.^ss^^^J^^^ 


BS  1555  .S846 

Stevens,  William  Coit,  1853- 

The  Book  of  Daniel 


Scripture   iprimere 


THE  BOOK  OF  DANIEL 


A  COMPOSITE  REVELATION  OF 
THE  LAST  DAYS  OF  ISRAEL'S  SUB- 
JUGATION TO  GENTILE  POWERS 


W.  C.  STEVENS 

Late  Principal  Missionary  Training  Institute,  Christian 
and  Missionary  Alliance,  Nyack,  N.  Y. 


Revised  Edition 


'''''^tr>s 


'^4^ 


New  York        Chicago       Toronto 

Fleming    H.    Revell    Company 

London     and     Edinburgh 


Copyright,  1915,  1918,  by 
W.  C.  STEVENS 


New  York:  158  Fifth  Avenue 
Chicago:  17  North  Wabash  Ave. 
Toronto:  25  Richmond  Street,W. 
London:  21  Paternoster  Square 
Edinburgh:  100  Princes  Street 


DEDICATION 

CT'O  the  Fifteen  Hundred  Men 
-^  AND  Women  now  representing 
all  foreign  mission  fields  and  home 
spheres  of  Christian  service,  with 
whom  he  spent  many  hallowed  hours 
in  searching  God's  Word  while 
Principal  of  the  Missionary  Institute 
at  Nyack-on-Hudson,  N.  Y.,  this 
volume  is  affectionately  dedicated  by 
the  Author. 


AUTHOR'S  FOREWORD 

This  book  was  written  under  the  solemn  im- 
pressions of  the  first  months  of  the  great  conflict 
which  is  now  convulsing  the  European  and,  in 
part  already,  the  Asiatic  territory  of  the  imperial 
world  with  which  Daniel  is  concerned.  May  the 
following  pages  be  helpful  under  God  just  at  this 
time,  when  "latter  days"  history  and  progress  are 
being  strikingly  unfolded. 

The  author's  aim  is  not  to  throw  light  upon 
Daniel,  but  to  open  the  windows  of  ordinary  in- 
telligence for  the  light  of  Daniel  to  stream  in. 
The  method  followed  has  been  thus  described  by 
an  experienced  judge  of  the  subject:  "His  un- 
folding of  the  book  is  the  book's  unfolding  of 
itself." 

"Scripture  Primers"  is  a  modest  title  for  a  se- 
ries of  Scriptural  writings,  not  affecting  to  be 
commentaries,  of  which  the  present  volume  is  the 
first.  This  title  admits  of  a  construction  of  the 
books,  internal  and  external,  which  is  simple  and 
helpful,  as  well  as  handy  and  economical,  for 
general  classes  of  readers. 

W.  C.  Stevens. 

Oakland,  Cal.,  February  6, 1915. 


AUTHOR'S  PREFACE  TO  THE  SECOND 
EDITION 

No  small  stir  has  agitated  all  circles  of  pro- 
phetic students  and  writers  during  the  last  two 
and  one-half  years  since  this  volume  was  first  is- 
sued. This  has  been  due  to  the  striking  character 
of  the  great  international  war  which  is  still  raging. 
This  conflict  has  provoked  much  prophetic  inquiry 
and  has  occasioned  multiplied  ventures  into  the 
field  of  prophetic  interpretation. 

However,  notwithstanding  the  urgent  claims  of 
these,  too  often  variant,  interpretations, — based 
very  largely  upon  the  prophecies  of  Daniel — the 
author  has,  after  continual  prayerful  reference  to 
the  book  of  Daniel  itself,  found  no  occasion  to 
alter  any  item  of  exposition  as  given  in  the  first 
edition  in  preparing  this  reissue. 

This  reflects  no  credit  upon  the  author;  but  it 
does  emphasize  the  wisdom  of  reading  the  book  of 
Daniel — as  also  all  other  Scriptures — in  a  plain, 
natural,  literary  way,  without  bringing  to  it  any 
**keys  of  interpretation,"  by  which  to  unlock  from 
the  book  something  else  than  its  self-evident 
meaning. 

While  the  accelerating  progress  of  prophetic 
fulfilment  thrills  the  enlightened  heart  with 
greatly  intensified  anticipation,  yet  the  rigid  de- 
mands of  Daniel's  outline  of  the  present  age  check 


PREFACE  TO  SECOND  EDITION 

all  sensational  prognostications  of  an  untimely 
termination  of  the  same.  The  awful  agonies  of 
the  present  conflict  of  the  imperial  elements  have 
not  as  yet  resulted  in  jointing  to  the  pedal  stage 
of  the  time-end  of  Daniel's  outline  the  final  digital 
stage.  It  would  be  a  sad  omen  of  worse  coming 
troubles  did  this  struggle  not  so  result  at  all. 
But,  even  if  it  does,  we  have  only  an  approximate, 
not  an  arithmetical,  basis  on  which  to  estimate  the 
further  duration  of  the  age. 

It  is  true  that  ''The  Lord  is  at  hand."  But  on 
that  very  account  was  the  exhortation  given, 
which  applies  as  well  today,  "Let  your  moderation 
be  known  to  all  men"  (Phil.  4:5). 

One  thing  is  certainly  not  only  "at  hand,"  but 
on  hand;  that  is  the  world's  crying  need  of  the 
gospel.  'T  [Jesus]  say  unto  you.  Lift  up  your 
eyes,  and  look  on  the  fields;  for  they  are  white 
already  to  harvest."  Never  was  the  whitened 
state  of  the  world-field — fully  ripe  with  spiritual 
need — so  vividly  before  every  intelligent  spiritual 
eye.  And  another  thing  is  certainly  practically 
imperative  today,  which  is,  "Occupy  till  I  come." 

In  Matt.  24:  13,  14  two  "ends"  are  spoken  of. 
"But  he  that  shall  endure  unto  the  end,  the  same 
shall  be  saved.  And  this  gospel  of  the  kingdom 
shall  be  preached  in  all  the  world  for  a  witness 
unto  all  nations;  and  then  shall  the  end  come." 

The  first  "end"  was  the  destruction  of  the  Holy 
City  and  the  Temple  of  the  Jews,  in  70  A.  D. 
The  other  "end"  is  that  which  we  still  await. 
The  entire  interval  between  these  terminals  was  to 
be  occupied  with  one  ever-pressing  claim  upon  the 


PREFACE  TO  SECOND  EDITION 

Church  of  Jesus  Christ,  with  one  ever-insistent 
matter  for  her  attention, — to  preach  "this  gospel 
of  the  kingdom  in  all  the  world  for  a  witness  unto 
all  nations,"  or,  as  Jesus  put  it  in  Mark  16:  15, 
"to  every  creature." 

These  days,  the  conditions  of  these  days,  the 
signs  of  these  days,  all  conspire  to  challenge,  to 
compel,  the  Church  of  Christ  to  herald  His  ever- 
lasting gospel  to  every  nation,  to  every  quarter, 
to  every  creature.  Is  there  any  real  assurance  of 
His  coming  so  long  as  this  is  not  done?  Would 
it  be  well  for  the  Church  for  Him  to  come  and  find 
her  far  behind  in  this  business?  Is  she  in  true 
readiness  for  His  appearing  while  delinquent  with 
respect  to  the  immediate,  entire  evangelization  of 
the  world?  Without  proving  obedient  to  the 
command:  "Go  ye  into  all  the  world,  and  preach 
the  gospel  to  every  creature,"  can  she  claim  the 
promise:  "Blessed  is  that  servant,  whom  his  Lord 
when  He  cometh  shall  find  so  doing"? 

W.  C.  Stevens. 
Biblical  College,  Boone,  Iowa. 
Thanksgiving  Day,  1917. 


INTRODUCTION 

For  twenty  years  the  writer  has  known  the 
author  of  this  modest  volume  as  a  brother  in 
Christ  and  a  valued  teacher  of  the  Word  of  God. 
Christian  workers  throughout  the  world  have 
lighted  their  torches  at  his  flame,  as  they  sat  under 
his  benign  teaching  in  the  Missionary  Training 
Institute  at  Nyack,  N.  Y.  An  appreciation  of  his 
spirit  and  his  ability  makes  it  an  honor  to  write 
this  introduction  to  the  earliest  of  his  Scriptural 
Primers. 

His  choice  of  the  book  of  Daniel  is  well-timed, 
writing  as  he  did  under  the  solemn  impressions  of 
the  great  conflict  progressing  in  the  very  territory 
of  which  Daniel  was  inspired  to  speak,  the  terri- 
tory of  the  prophetic  earth.  And,  as  if  the  author 
himself  were  touched  by  the  same  Spirit  to  show 
the  application  of  one  of  Daniel's  prophecies  to 
current  events,  he  asks :  ''What  are  the  attributes 
of  beasts  ?  To  keep  their  own  at  any  cost  within 
their  might ;  to  quarrel  over  what  they  do  not  have 
but  what  they  want ;  to  fly  easily  into  blood-thirsty 
rage  at  any  affront;  .  .  .  under  passion,  to  take 
utmost  satisfaction  in  the  blood,  the  agonies,  the 
loss,  the  death  of  the  objects  of  their  rage;  .  .  . 
God  foresaw  this  spirit  prevalent  in  the  world- 
empires  down  to  the  end.  .  .  .  And  militarism  is 
its  indispensable  implement." 


INTRODUCTION 

The  reader  will  recognize  in  this  single  extract 
the  up-to-date-ness  of  this  work,  and  appreciate 
the  skill  which  is  able  to  bring  the  Bible  and  the 
last  event  of  history  together. 

Scarcely  any  two  expositors  of  Daniel  may  ex- 
pect to  see  eye  to  eye  in  every  detail  of  its  inter- 
pretation, which  makes  it  the  more  interesting  to 
the  writer  that  Mr.  Stevens  should  regard  "the 
man  of  sin"  as  likely  to  arise  in  Greece,  since  for 
years  the  writer's  own  conviction  has  been  in  that 
direction.  If  he  be  not  a  Grecian  prince,  is  it  not 
at  least  from  that  portion  of  the  Roman  Empire 
which  formerly  was  the  kingdom  of  Greece  that 
we  are  to  look  for  "this  great  destroyer  of  God's 
Israel  to  appear?" 

Did  space  permit,  it  would  be  worth  while  to 
speak  of  the  natural  method  of  study  illustrated  in 
this  book,  in  obedience  to  which  the  author  to  so 
great  an  extent  permits  the  text  to  be  its  own  in- 
terpreter, a  merit  all  too  rare  in  commentaries. 
The  best  Bible  teacher  is  he  who  lets  God  do  the 
most  teaching  through  his  lips,  or  by  his  pen,  and 
Mr.  Stevens  has  the  wisdom  to  perceive  and  act 
upon  this  principle. 

May  God  add  His  blessing  to  the  book  which 
seems  to  have  "come  to  the  kingdom  for  such  a 
time  as  this,"  for  as  its  writer  says :  "In  the  light 
of  all  the  revelations  of  Daniel  thus  far,  we  feel 
strongly  impressed  that  we  are  in  the  transition 
from  'latter  days'  to  'last  days.'  " 

— James  M.  Gray. 
The  Moody  Bible  Institute  of  Chicago. 


CONTENTS 


I.  Daniel  Chosen  or  God  and  of  the  King 

11.  Dream  of  the  Great  Image 

III.  Nebuchadnezzar's  Image  of  Gold 

IV.  Dream  of  the  Great  Tree 
V.  Belshazzar's  Feast  and  Fall    . 

VI.  The  Lions'  Den 

VII.  The  Vision  of  the  Four  Beasts     . 

VIII.  Vision  of  the  Ram  and  the  He-Goat 

IX.  Vision  of  the  Seventy  Weeks  . 

X.  Daniel's  Last  Vision     .... 

XL  Daniel's  Last  Vision,  Continued 

XII.  Daniel's  Last  Vision,  Concluded 
List  of  the  Author's  Writings    . 


15 

30 

46 

55 

66 

77 

86 

112 

130 

167 

183 

204 

225 


INTRODUCTORY:     DANIEL  CHOSEN 
OF  GOD  AND  OF  THE  KING 

1  In  the  third  year  of  the  reign  of  Jehoiakim  king  of 
Judah  came  Nebuchadnezzar  king  of  Babylon  unto 
Jerusalem,  and  besieged  it.  2  And  the  Lord  gave  Jehoi- 
akim king  of  Judah  into  his  hand,  with  part  of  the  vessels 
of  the  house  of  God:  which  he  carried  into  the  land  of 
Shinar  to  the  house  of  his  god ;  and  he  brought  the  vessels 
into  the  treasure  house  of  his  god. 

Beginning  of  Judah's  Downfall  and  of 
THE  Seventy  Years'  Captivity. — Borrowing 
from  secular  chronology  the  well-known  date  of 
the  destruction  of  Jerusalem  by  Nebuchadnezzar, 
587  B.  c,  and  reckoning  backward  in  the  line  of 
Judah's  last  kings  as  given  in  2  Chron.  36,  we  find 
that  "the  third  year  of  the  reign  of  Jehoiakim 
king  of  Judah"  was  606  B.  c.  According  to  2 
Kings  24:  1-4,  it  was  because  of  Jehoiakim's 
extreme  ungodliness,  as  well  as  in  remembrance 
of  the  wickedness  of  earlier  kings  of  Judah,  es- 
pecially Manasseh,  that  God  began,  with  this 
invasion  of  Nebuchadnezzar,  the  long-threatened 
overthrow  of  the  kingdom.  This  partial  captivity 
was  really  the  beginning  of  the  "Seventy  Years* 
Captivity"  of  the  Jews  in  Babylon.  That  Nebu- 
chadnezzar had  everything  at  his  mercy  is  evi- 

15 


i6  THE  BOOK  OF  DANIEL 

dent  from  the  statement  of  2  Chron.  36:  6,  that 
/'he  bound  him  [Jehoiakim]  in  fetters,  to  carry 
him  to  Babylon."  But  he  released  him  from 
fetters  and  replaced  him  on  his  throne;  only, 
however,  under  the  condition  of  servitude  to  him- 
self (2  Kings  24:  1).  The  first  stage  of  the 
downfall  of  Judah,  then,  was  the  degradation  of 
the  kingdom  to  a  state  of  servitude  to  Babylon, 
with  only  a  partial  and  special  captivity  at  the 
first.  The  Jews  have  never  since  recovered  their 
independence  as  a  kingdom,  as  at  this  same  time 
began  the  yet  unexpired  "Times  of  the  Gentiles," 
meaning  thereby  the  times  of  Gentile  rule  over 
God^s  chosen  nation,  Israel. 

After  three  years  Jehoiakim  rebelled  against 
God's  will  in  his  subjection  to  Nebuchadnezzar, 
and  he  thereby  brought  the  nation  under  increas- 
ing calamities  (2  Kings  24:  2).  During  his  re- 
maining five  years  he  was  provoking  Nebuchad- 
nezzar to  a  new  and  more  destructive  invasion  of 
Judah.  Jehoiakim,  however,  died  in  disgrace 
(Jer.  22:  17,  19)  before  the  invader  arrived,  and 
the  next  king,  Jehoiachin,  after  reigning  wickedly 
but  one  hundred  days,  was  taken  captive,  together 
with  all  his  family,  the  queen  mother  and  the  best 
part  of  the  people  and  of  the  treasures  of  temple 
and  palace  (2  Kings  24:  8-16).  This  is  com- 
monly called  ''The  Captivity,"  both  because  of  its 
magnitude  and  also  because  it  contained  the  seed 
of  the  future  restoration ;  the  remnant  left  behind 
was  reserved  for  destruction  or  irrecoverable  dis- 
persion, when  after  eleven  more  years,  covering 


DANIEL  CHOSEN  OF  GOD  17 

the  reign  of  the  last  king,  Zedekiah, — years  of 
fully  ripened  rebellion  and  corruption — Nebu- 
chadnezzar was  once  more  sent  by  God  to  finish 
the  work  of  judgment  upon  Judah  and  Jerusalem. 
Read  Jer.  24. 

3  And  the  king  spake  unto  Ashpenaz  the  master  of  his 
eunuchs,  that  he  should  bring  certain  of  the  children  of 
Israel,  and  of  the  king's  seed,  and  of  the  princes;  4 
Children  in  whom  was  no  blemish,  but  well  favoured,  and 
skillful  in  all  wisdom  and  cunning  in  knowledge,  and 
understanding  science,  and  such  as  had  ability  in  them 
to  stand  in  the  king's  palace,  and  whom  they  might  teach 
the  learning  and  the  tongue  of  the  Chaldeans.  5  And 
the  king  appointed  them  a  daily  provision  of  the  king's 
meat,  and  of  the  wine  which  he  drank:  so  nourishing 
them  three  years,  that  at  the  end  thereof  they  might  stand 
before  the  king.  6  Now  among  these  were  of  the  chil- 
dren of  Judah,  Daniel,  Hananiah,  IMishael,  and  Azariah: 
7  Unto  whom  the  prince  of  the  eunuchs  gave  names:  for 
he  gave  unto  Daniel  the  name  of  Belteshazzar;  and  to 
Hananiah,  of  Shadrach;  and  to  Mishael,  of  Meshach; 
and  to  Azariah,  of  Abed-nego. 

Daniel's  Deportation  to  Babylon. — 
Daniel  was  included  in  that  first  captivity,  which, 
it  seems,  was  in  Nebuchadnezzar's  mind  a  matter 
of  adding  valuable  material  to  the  empire  rather 
than  of  merely  dragging  prisoners  of  war  into 
captivity.  Besides  taking  his  choice  ^'of  the  ves- 
sels of  God's  house,"  he  had  promising  young  men 
selected  from  the  royal  household,  the  nobility  and 
the  populace,  for  training  for  court  service  at 
Babylon.  Among  these  were  Daniel  and  his  three 
special  companions. 


i8  THE  BOOK  OF  DANIEL 

The  above  description  of  the  gifts  and  acquisi- 
tions required  in  these  youths  would  warrant  our 
setting  the  age  of  Daniel  approximately  at  nine- 
teen. This  would  locate  his  birth  at  625  B.  C, 
which  date  also  marked  the  birth  of  the  Babylo- 
nian Empire,  with  which  Daniel  was  destined  to 
be  so  remarkably  associated  throughout  its  history. 
It  was  Nebuchadnezzar's  father,  Nabopolassar, 
who  broke  the  power  of  ancient  Nineveh,  the 
capital  of  the  hoary  Assyrian  Empire ;  and  Neb- 
uchadnezzar, as  heir-apparent  to  the  new  world- 
empire,  seems  to  have  become  already  a  great 
conqueror.  His  accession  to  the  throne  upon  his 
father's  death  was,  according  to  Jer.  25:  1,  one 
year  after  his.  first  capture  of  Jerusalem,  namely, 
*Tn  the  fourth  year  of  Jehoiakim,"  605  B.  C. 
Thus  God  was  preparing  His  chosen  instrument 
of  judicial  dealing  with  His  erring  people,  while 
at  the  same  time  He  was  preparing  in  the  person 
of  Daniel  His  own  representative  and  prophet,  to 
stand  in  his  people's  behalf  before  the  mighty 
monarch. 

8  But  Daniel  purposed  in  his  heart  that  he  would  not 
defile  himself  with  the  portion  of  the  king's  meat,  nor  with 
the  wine  which  he  drank;  therefore  he  requested  of  the 
prince  of  the  eunuchs  that  he  might  not  defile  himself. 

Daniel's  Great  Moral  and  Religious  De- 
cision.— We  cannot  believe  that  Daniel  was  a 
purposeless  young  man  when  he  passed  through 
the  gates  of  the  new,  ambitious  capital  of  the 
world.     A  very  interesting  and  profitable  study 


DANIEL  CHOSEN  OF  GOD         19 

may  be  made  right  here  into  the  circumstances  of 
Daniel's  earlier  years,  in  order  to  form  an  approx- 
imate idea  of  the  process  through  which  this  rare 
character  was  developed  for  so  high  a  destiny. 

We  cannot  doubt  that  so  intelligent,  observant 
and  favored  a  youth  had  taken  a  keen  and  profit- 
able interest  in  the  momentous  events  which,  as 
we  have  noted,  were  in  progress  in  the  course  of 
Gentile  empire.  But,  of  far  stronger  influence 
upon  him  would  be  the  stirring  contemporaneous 
events  in  the  history  of  his  native  land.  From 
verse  3  we  may  infer  that  he  was  a  child  of  the 
royal  house  or  of  the  highest  nobility,  and  that, 
therefore,  he  had  been  reared  in  close  touch  with 
the  highest  personages  of  the  nation.  First 
among  these  stood  the  good  king  Josiah. 

Assuming  that  Daniel  was  nineteen  when  taken 
to  Babylon  ''in  the  third  year  of  Jehoiakim,"  this 
would  carry  his  birth  back  to  the  fifteenth  year  of 
Josiah's  reign  of  thirty-one  years  (2  Chron. 
34:  1).  Next,  perhaps,  to  David  himself,  Josiah 
was  dearer  to  the  heart  of  God  and  of  the  people 
than  any  other  king.  ''He  did  that  which  was 
right  in  the  sight  of  the  Lord,  and  walked  in  the 
ways  of  David  his  father,  and  declined  neither 
to  the  right  hand,  nor  to  the  left"  (vs.  2).  At 
sixteen  years  of  age  "he  began  to  seek  after  the 
God  of  David  his  father"  (vs.  3).  For  four 
years  he  so  grew  in  the  knowledge  of  God  and  in 
holy  zeal,  that,  being  then  but  twenty  years  of  age, 
he  set  resolutely  about  the  task  of  extirpating  the 
extreme  system  of  idolatry  which  his  predecessors, 


20  THE  BOOK  OF  DANIEL 

Manasseh  and  Amon,  had,  during  fifty-seven 
years  of  shameless  rule,  established  and  perpetu- 
ated throughout  the  land.  This  occupied  him  for 
six  years.  ''And  when  he  had  broken  down  the 
altars  and  the  groves,  and  had  beaten  the  graven 
images  into  powder,  and  cut  down  all  the  idols 
throughout  all  the  land  of  Israel,  he  returned  to 
Jerusalem"  (vs.  7).  Daniel  would  then  have 
been  old  enough  to  catch  the  inspiration  of  this 
holy  achievement. 

Immediately  after,  Josiah  took  up  vigorously 
the  task  of  renovating  the  neglected  temple,  which 
was  full  of  rubbish  and  sadly  out  of  repair  (vss. 
8-13).  There  turned  up  amidst  the  rubbish  a 
copy  of  the  law  of  Moses.  Manasseh  had  evi- 
dently taken  pains  to  wipe  out  even  the  written 
law  from  the  land.  How  remarkable  that  Josiah 
could  have  gained  such  intimate  acquaintance 
with  God  and  such  holy,  intelligent  zeal  without 
a  copy  of  the  Scriptures  to  aid  him !  The  discov- 
ery of  this  copy  of  the  law  led,  upon  its  being  read 
before  the  king,  to  the  utmost  apprehension  of  the 
extreme  judgment  of  God,  and  to  the  most  anxious 
appeal  to  God  for  mercy.  Mercy  was  promised 
for  Josiah's  remaining  days  (vss.  14-28). 
Thereupon  Josiah  had  the  nation  assembled  to 
hear  the  law,  and  he  swore  all  to  the  most  faithful 
observance  of  the  same  (vss.  29-33). 

It  is  to  be  noted  that,  from  the  first  year  after 
Josiah  commenced  all  these  public  reforms,  he 
had  had  the  association  and  assistance  of  Jere- 
miah, who,  according  to  Jer.  1:2,  was  called  just 


DANIEL  CHOSEN  OF  GOD  21 

at  this  juncture  and  almost  as  a  youth  to  his  great 
prophetic  office.  His  was  the  task  of  the  internal, 
spiritual  reform;  while  Josiah's  was  that  of  the 
external,  conventional  reform.  Josiah's  work  as 
recorded  in  the  historical  books  was  an  inspiring 
success;  but  Jeremiah's  work  was  to  tear  away 
the  mask  from  the  hollow-hearted  reformation  of 
the  people. 

Josiah's  epoch  of  reform  was  crowned  with  a 
most  glorious  passover  (35:  1-19).  ''And  there 
was  no  passover  like  to  that  kept  in  Israel  from 
the  days  of  Samuel  the  prophet:  neither  did  all 
the  kings  of  Israel  keep  such  a  passover  as  Josiah 
kept"  (vs.  18). 

We  can  see  that,  under  such  leaders  of  affairs  in 
Judah  and  under  such  influences,  critical  and 
stirring,  Daniel's  young  heart  must  have  received 
an  unusual  molding  for  good.  Back  of  all  there 
lay,  most  likely,  a  godly  parental  care,  which  util- 
ized and  supplemented  these  circumstances  for 
the  best  ends. 

But  we  are  called  now  to  note  particularly  the 
change  of  conditions  affecting  Daniel's  training  of 
character  which  occurred  when  he  was  suppos- 
edly sixteen  years  of  age.  At  that  time  a  tragedy 
hitherto  unparalleled  befell  Judah  in  the  untimely 
death  of  Josiah  while  in  the  prime  of  life  and  suc- 
cess. This  occurred  in  consequence  of  what  was 
apparently  the  one  only  misstep  of  his  life, 
namely,  his  misguided  and  foolish  interference 
with  Egypt's  attempt  to  gain  supremacy  over  the 
decaying  power  of  Assyria.     The  sad  story  and 


22  THE  BOOK  OF  DANIEL 

its  profound  effect  is  told  in  2  Chron.  35:  20-25. 

After  all  this,  when  Josiah  had  prepared  the  temple, 
Necho  king  of  Egypt  came  up  to  fight  against  Charchemish 
by  Euphrates:  and  Josiah  went  out  against  him.  But 
he  sent  ambassadors  to  him,  saying,  What  have  I  to  do 
with  thee,  thou  king  of  Judah?  I  come  not  against  thee 
this  day,  but  against  the  house  wherewith  I  have  war :  for 
God  commanded  me  to  make  haste:  forbear  thee  from 
meddling  with  God,  who  is  with  me,  that  he  destroy  thee 
not.  Nevertheless  Josiah  would  not  turn  his  face  from 
him,  but  disguised  himself  that  he  might  fight  with  him, 
and  hearkened  not  unto  the  words  of  Necho  from  the 
mouth  of  God,  and  came  to  fight  in  the  valley  of  Megiddo. 
And  the  archers  shot  at  king  Josiah ;  and  the  king  said  to 
his  servants,  Have  me  away;  for  I  am  sorely  wounded. 
His  servants  therefore  took  him  out  of  that  chariot,  and 
put  him  in  the  second  chariot  that  he  had ;  and  they  brought 
him  to  Jerusalem,  and  he  died,  and  was  buried  in  one  of 
the  sepulchres  of  his  fathers.  And  all  Judah  and  Jeru- 
salem mourned  for  Josiah.  And  Jeremiah  lamented  for 
Josiah;  and  all  the  singing  men  and  the  singing  women 
spake  of  Josiah  in  their  lamentations  to  this  day,'  and 
made  them  an  ordinance  in  Israel;  and,  behold,  they  are 
written  in  the  lamentatior^s. 

The  impressionable  heart  of  the  lad  Daniel 
must  have  been  affected  profoundly  and  indelibly 
by  this  whole  affair.  Yet,  all  the  more  critical 
must  have  been  this  period  of  his  life,  because  of 
the  sudden  and  extreme  contrast  now  introduced 
into  his  political  and  moral  surroundings  and  in- 
fluences. The  son  of  Josiah,  Jehoahaz  (also 
called  Shallum  in  Jer.  22^11,  12)  took  not  up  his 
father's  mantle,  but  that  of  his  wicked  predeces- 
sors; and  after  a  reign  of  only  three  months  he 


DANIEL  CHOSEN  OF  GOD         23 

was  taken  away  captive  for  the  rest  of  his  life  by 
the  Egyptian  king,  Pharaoh-Necho,  on  his  return 
from  his  defeat  in  the  East  (2  Kings  23:  31-34). 
Jehoiakim,  another  son  of  Josiah,  then  took  up 
the  reins  of  government;  but,  as  we  have  seen, 
only  to  undo  as  rapidly  as  possible  all  the  good 
which  Josiah  had  accomplished.  Now  that  the 
kingdom  was  reeling  along  dizzily  in  abandoned 
wickedness,  wanton  idolatry  and  reckless  viola- 
tion of  political  obligations,  every  worldly  induce- 
ment to  a  prince  in  the  morning  of  life  would  urge 
Daniel  to  forsake  the  memories  of  Josiah,  spurn 
the  relentless  jeremiads  of  the  prophet,  and  con- 
form to  the  morals  and  politics  of  the  day.  These 
very  conditions,  however,  impelled  a  soul  like 
Daniel's  to  root  itself  in  the  deepest  fastnesses  of 
the  national  faith.  He  girded  himself  to  with- 
stand, rather  than  to  drift  with,  the  current  of  his 
times. 

With  some  such  previous  moral  training,  Dan- 
iel met  the  supreme  demand  upon  his  personal  de- 
cision which  was  occasioned  by  the  new  and  test- 
ing surroundings  and  temptations  of  the  imperial 
court  at  the  capital,  not  only  of  Gentile  power,  but 
also  of  heathen  idolatry.  Daniel  had  to  decide, 
at  the  risk  alike  of  forfeiting  the  most  dazzling 
earthly  prospects  and  of  provoking  the  murderous 
wrath  of  the  irresponsible  young  autocrat,  that  he 
would  not  be  of  Babylon  although  in  it;  that  he 
would  be  as  out  and  out  for  God  in  Babylon  as 
in  Jerusalem ;  that,  while  politically  under  the  feet 
of  Babylon,  yet  morally  and  spiritually  he  would 


24  THE  BOOK  OF  DANIEL 

put  Babylon  under  his  feet.  This  decision 
founded  him  deep  down  upon  the  Rock,  Christ 
Jesus;  and  on  this  Rock  God  built  that  unique 
character  and  career,  which  serves  as  a  pattern  for 
every  Christian  who  has  to  live  in  a  world  yet 
lying  in  the  evil  one. 

It  is  worthy  of  notice,  how  unflinching  decision 
perfectly  blended  with  refined  courtesy  in  Daniel, 
in  that  he  pursued  his  purpose,  not  to  defile  him- 
self with  the  king's  meat  and  drink,  not  by 
abruptly  repulsing  the  prince  of  the  eunuchs,  but 
by  requesting  to  be  allowed  another  diet  (vs.  8). 

9  Now  God  had  brought  Daniel  into  favor  and  tender 
love  with  the  prince  of  the  eunuchs.  10  And  the  prince 
of  the  eunuchs  said  unto  Daniel,  I  fear  my  lord  the  king, 
who  hath  appointed  your  meat  and  your  drink:  for  why 
should  he  see  your  faces  worse  liking  than  the  children 
which  are  of  your  sort?  then  shall  ye  make  me  endanger 
my  head  to  the  king.  11  Then  said  Daniel  to  Melzar, 
whom  the  prince  of  the  eunuchs  had  set  over  Daniel,  Han- 
aniah,  Mishael  and  Azariah,  12  Prove  thy  servants,  I 
beseech  thee,  ten  days;  and  let  them  give  us  pulse  to  eat 
and  water  to  drink.  13  Then  let  our  countenances  be 
looked  upon  before  thee,  and  the  countenance  of  the  chil- 
dren that  eat  of  the  portion  of  the  king's  meat:  and  as 
thou  seest,  deal  with  thy  servants.  14  So  he  consented  to 
them  in  this  matter,  and  proved  them  ten  days.  15  And 
at  the  end  of  ten  days  their  countenances  appeared  fairer 
and  fatter  in  flesh  than  all  the  children  which  did  eat  the 
portion  of  the  king's  meat.  16  Then  Melzar  took  away 
the  portion  of  their  meat,  and  the  wine  that  they  should 
drink;  and  gave  them  pulse. 

Daniel's  Diet  in  Relation  to  His  Career. 
— While  the  rejection  of  these  articles  was  not 


DANIEL  CHOSEN  OF  GOD         25 

primarily  a  matter  of  abstinence  or  of  dietary  con- 
sideration, and  while  even  the  ''pulse"  was  doubt- 
less served  as  a  dish  "fit  for  a  king,"  yet  on  physi- 
cal grounds  this  decision  was  after  the  Lord's  way 
of  eating,  in  its  bearing  upon  a  great  career. 
"Woe  to  thee,  O  land,  when  thy  king  is  a  child, 
and  thy  princes  eat  in  the  morning !  Blessed  art 
thou,  O  land,  when  thy  king  is  the  son  of  nobles, 
and  thy  princes  eat  in  due  season,  for  strength, 
and  not  for  drunkenness!"  (Ecc.  10:  16,  17). 
Liquor  makes  drunk  its  thousands;  intemperate 
eating  its  tens  of  thousands.  The  one  blights 
many  promising  careers,  the  other  ten-fold  more, 
especially  among  God's  children.  As  food  is 
amazingly  potential  for  strength  of  body  and 
mind,  so  is  it  also  for  the  exhaustion  of  both  when 
unduly  taken.  But  food-drunkenness  does  not 
end  with  depression  of  body  and  mind;  it  alarm- 
ingly weakens  moral  and  spiritual  strength.  Not 
only  is  an  inordinate  appetite  to  be  conquered; 
an  orderly  diet  is  also  necessary  to  such  longevity 
and  unfailing  ability  as  find  illustration  in  Dan- 
iel's career. 

17  As  for  these  four  children,  God  gave  them  knowl- 
edge and  skill  in  all  learning  and  wisdom :  and  Daniel  had 
understanding  in  all  visions  and  dreams.  18  Now  at  the 
end  of  the  days  that  the  king  had  said  he  should  bring 
them  in,  then  the  prince  of  the  eunuchs  brought  them  in 
before  Nebuchadnezzar.  19  And  the  king  communed 
with  them;  and  among  them  all  was  found  none  like  Dan- 
iel, Hananiah,  Mishael  and  Azariah:  therefore  stood  they 
before  the  king.  20  And  in  all  matters  of  wisdom  and 
understanding,  that  the  king  inquired  of  them,  he  found 


26  THE  BOOK  OF  DANIEL 

them  ten  times  better  than  all  the  magicians  and  astrolo- 
gers that  were  in  all  his  realm.  21  And  Daniel  continued 
even  unto  the  first  year  of  king  Cyrus. 

Chosen  and  Prepared  of  God  to  Stand 
Before  Kings. — Daniel  and  his  companions 
illustrate  to  us  the  great  truth  that,  for  our  pres- 
ent dual  life — in  both  the  natural  and  the  super- 
natural, in  the  earthlies  as  well  as  the  heavenlies 
— we  are  to  combine  the  best  of  heavenly  grace 
with  the  highest  of  earthly  acquisition.  "God 
gave  them  knowledge  and  skill,"  verse  17.  Here 
is  a  stream  of  grace  from  above.  Enough  in  it- 
self, we  would  at  first  say,  with  which  to  turn  the 
world  upside  down.  Perhaps  so !  But  our  work 
is  to  turn  the  world  right  side  up.  And,  while  we 
are  to  do  this  by  divine  will  and  power,  and  not 
by  human,  yet  equally  are  we  to  do  it  by  natural 
instrumentality.  Hence,  our  quotation  needs  to 
be  completed:  "God  gave  them  knowledge  and 
skill  in  all  learning  and  wisdom.''  Here  was 
something  of  practical  value  to  Nebuchadnezzar, 
through  which  the  power  of  God  could  reach  and 
shake  his  heart  and  his  throne;  just  as  Carey  in 
India,  Griffith  John  in  China,  Underwood  in 
Korea,  Hamlin  in  Turkey,  and  other  men  of  de- 
cision of  character  and  of.  divinely  blest  scientific 
knowledge,  have  served  in  modern  heathen  coun- 
tries. Certain  men  of  God  are  today  being  the 
real  agents  of  upheaval  in  all  the  great  oriental 
nations,  and  they  are  being  treated  by  progressive 
heathen  rulers  as  "ten  times  better"  than  all  the 


DANIEL  CHOSEN  OF  GOD         27 

wise  men  of  their  realms.  But  it  is  their  natural 
desirability  to  these  monarchs  which  opens  their 
way  to  where  God  wants  them. 

Daniel,  however,  had  added  to  him  other  and 
purely  supernatural  gifts,  which  qualified  him 
to  be  God's  agent  in  some  ways  entirely  beyond  his 
equally  faithful  and  honorable  companions: 
''And  Daniel  had  understanding  in  all  visions  and 
dreams"  (vs.  17). 

After  three  years  of  tuition  in  the  language  and 
lore  of  the  Chaldeans,  Daniel,  with  his  three  com- 
panions, was  presented  at  court  for  a  thorough 
examination  of  his  qualifications  for  court  service. 
These  Hebrews  were  found  to  be  very  far  superior 
to  all  other  candidates.  The  result  for  Daniel 
was  a  long  ministry  at  the  king's  court.  Not  only 
did  he  serve  as  Nebuchadnezzar's  prime  minister 
throughout  his  long  reign  of  forty-four  years,  but 
he  succeeded  himself  under  the  rest  of  the  Baby- 
lonian monarchs ;  and  he  was  still  retained  as  the 
most  respected  and  trusted  minister  under  the  suc- 
ceeding Medo-Persian  Empire.  As  verse  21 
says,  ''And  Daniel  continued  [in  imperial  service] 
even  unto  the  first  year  of  Cyrus."  This  is  in- 
tended to  show  us  that  Daniel's  official  career 
spanned  the  entire  seventy  years  of  the  Babylo- 
nian captivity  of  the  Jews,  for  it  was  in  the  first 
year  of  Cyrus  the  Persian  that  the  exiles  were 
released.  Probably  Daniel's  last  great  achieve- 
ment at  court  was  to  negotiate  with  Cyrus  the  de- 
cree^ of  liberation  for  the  Jews.  Doubtless  he 
brought  effectively  to  the  knowledge  of  Cyrus 
what  God  had  foreshown  concerning  him  nearly 


28  THE  BOOK  OF  DANIEL 

two  centuries  before  by  the  prophet  (Isaiah  44 :  28 
—45:  6): 

That  saith  of  Cyrus,  He  is  my  shepherd,  and  shall  per- 
form all  my  pleasure:  even  saying  to  Jerusalem,  Thou  shalt 
be  built;  and  to  the  temple,  Thy  foundation  shall  be  laid. 
Thus  saith  the  Lord  to  his  anointed,  to  Cyrus,  whose  right 
hand  I  have  holden,  to  subdue  all  nations  before  him;  and 
I  will  loose  the  loins  of  kings,  to  open  before  him  the  two- 
leaved  gates ;  and  the  gates  shall  not  be  shut ;  I  will  go  be- 
fore thee,  and  make  the  crooked  places  straight;  I  will 
break  in  pieces  the  gates  of  brass,  and  cut  in  sunder  the 
bars  of  iron:  and  I  will  give  thee  the  treasures  of  dark- 
ness, and  hidden  riches  of  secret  places,  that  thou  mayest 
know  that  I,  the  Lord,  which  call  thee  by  thy  name,  am 
the  God  of  Israel.  For  Jacob  my  servant's  sake,  and 
Israel  mine  elect,  I  have  even  called  thee  by  thy  name:  I 
have  surnamed  thee,  though  thou  hast  not  known  me.  I 
am  the  Lord,  and  there  is  none  else,  there  is  no  God 
beside  me:  I  girded  thee,  though  thou  hast  not  known 
me;  that  they  may  know  from  the  rising  of  the  sun,  and 
from  the  west,  that  there  is  none  beside  me.  I  am  the 
Lord,  and  there  is  none  else. 

Daniel  must  also  have  shown  him  the  prophe- 
cies of  Jeremiah,  which  fixed  a  definite  time  for 
the  termination  of  the  Babylonian  captivity,  which 
time  matured  in  536  B.  C,  the  first  year  of  Cyrus. 
See  Jer.  25:8-14;  also  26:10,  which  reads:  "For 
thus  saith  the  Lord,  That  after  seventy  years  be 
accomplished  at  Babylon  I  will  visit  you,  and 
perform  my  good  word  toward  you,  in  causing  you 
to  return  to  this  place."  The  result  of  these 
prophetic  instructions  from  Daniel  is  expressed 
by  Cyrus  himself  in  issuing  his  decree  (2  Chron. 
36:  22,23): 


DANIEL  CHOSEN  OF  GOD         29 

Now  in  the  first  year  of  Cyrus  king  of  Persia,  that  the 
word  of  the  Lord  spoken  by  the  mouth  of  Jeremiah  might 
be  accomplished,  the  Lord  stirred  up  the  spirit  of  Cyrus 
king  of  Persia,  that  he  made  a  proclamation  throughout 
all  his  kingdom,  and  put  it  also  in  writing,  saying,  Thus 
saith  Cyrus  king  of  Persia,  All  the  kingdoms  of  the 
earth  hath  the  Lord  God  of  heaven  given  me ;  and  he  hath 
charged  me  to  build  him  a  house  in  Jerusalem  which  is  in 
Judah.  Who  is  there  among  you  of  all  his  people?  The 
Lord  his  God  be  with  him  and  let  him  go  up. 

The  introductory  chapter  of  Daniel,  under  the 
side-lights  of  related  Scriptures,  has  served  so  to 
acquaint  us  with  this  prophet,  with  the  influences 
which  molded  his  character,  with  his  times,  and 
with  the  setting  and  opportunity  of  his  career,  as 
to  prepare  us  the  more  intelligently  and  expect- 
antly for  the  marvellous  records  and  revelations 
to  follow  in  his  book. 


II 

DREAM  OF  THE  GREAT  IMAGE 

And  in  the  second  year  of  the  reign  of  Nebuchadnezzar, 
Nebuchadnezzar  dreamed  dreams,  wherewith  his  spirit 
was  troubled,  and  his  sleep  brake  from  him. 

The  Date. — Again  the  writer  gives  definite 
chronological  setting  to  the  new  matter  which  he 
takes  in  hand.  We  have  already  learned  that 
Nebuchadnezzar  came  to  the  throne  in  605  B.  C, 
the  year  after  Daniel's  exile.  This  chapter  seems 
clearly  to  indicate  that  Daniel  had  already  been 
presented  at  court.  As  this  could  not  have  been 
before  603  B.  C.,  after  three  years  of  training,  we 
must  carry  the  second  year  of  Nebuchadnezzar's 
reign  over  into  603  B.  C.  for  the  time  of  this  inci- 
dent. 

2  Then  the  king  commanded  to  call  the  magicians,  and 
the  astrologers,  and  the  sorcerers,  and  the  Chaldeans,  for 
to  shew  the  king  his  dreams.  So  they  came  and  stood 
before  the  king.  3  And  the  king  said  unto  them,  I  have 
dreamed  a  dream,  and  my  spirit  was  troubled  to  know 
the  dream.  4  Then  spake  the  Chaldeans  to  the  king  in 
Syriac,  O  king,  live  forever:  tell  thy  servants  the  dream, 
and  we  will  shew  the  interpretation.  5  The  king  an- 
swered and  said  to  the  Chaldeans,  The  thing  is  gone  from 
me:  if  ye  will  not  make  known  unto  me  the  dream,  with  the 
interpretation  thereof,  ye  shall  be  cut  in  pieces,  and  your 
houses  shall  be  made  a  dunghill.     6  But  if  ye  shew  the 

30 


DREAM  OF  THE  GREAT  IMAGE     31 

dream,  and  the  interpretation  thereof,  ye  shall  receive  of 
me  gifts  and  rewards  and  great  honour :  therefore  shew  me 
the  dream,  and  the  interpretation  thereof.  7  They  an- 
swered again  and  said.  Let  the  king  tell  his  servants  the 
dream,  and  we  will  shew  the  interpretation  of  it.  8  The 
king  answered  and  said,  I  know  of  certainty  that  ye  would 
gain  time,  because  ye  see  the  thing  has  gone  from  me.  9 
But  if  ye  will  not  make  known  unto  me  the  dream,  there 
is  but  one  decree  for  you :  for  ye  have  prepared  lying  and 
corrupt  words  to  speak  before  me,  till  the  time  be  changed : 
therefore  tell  me  the  dream,  and  I  shall  know  that  ye  can 
shew  me  the  interpretation  thereof.  10  The  Chaldeans 
answered  before  the  king,  and  said.  There  is  not  a  man 
upon  the  earth  that  can  shew  the  king's  matter:  therefore 
tifere  is  no  king,  lord,  or  ruler,  that  asked  such  things  at 
any  magician,  or  astrologer,  or  Chaldean.  11  And  it  is 
a  rare  thing  that  the  king  requireth,  and  there  is  none  other 
that  can  shew  it  before  the  king,  except  the  gods,  whose 
dwelling  is  not  with  flesh.  12  For  this  cause  the  king 
was  angry  and  very  furious,  and  commanded  to  destroy 
all  the  wise  men  of  Babylon.  13  And  the  decree  went 
forth  that  the  wise  men  should  be  slain;  and  they  sought 
Daniel  and  his  fellows  to  be  slain. 

The  Peril  of  Daniel  and  His  Companions. 
— Every  detail  of  this  diabolical  plot,  culminat- 
ing in  the  naturally  inextricable  death-trap  of 
the  four  Hebrews,  was  essential  to  the  perfect 
channel  of  God's  marvellous  purpose. 

14  Then  Daniel  answered  with  counsel  and  wisdom  to 
Arioch  the  captain  of  the  king's  guard,  which  was  gone 
forth  to  slay  the  wise  men  of  Babylon:  He  answered  and 
said  to  Arioch  the  king's  captain,  Why  is  the  decree  so 
hasty  from  the  king  ?  Then  Arioch  made  the  thing  known 
to  Daniel.  16  Then  Daniel  went  in,  and  desired  of  the 
king  that  he  would  give  him  time,  and  that  he  would  shew 
the  king  the  interpretation.     17  Then  Daniel  went  to  his 


32  THE  BOOK  OF  DANIEL 

house  and  made  the  thing  known  to  Hananiah,  Mishael, 
and  Azariah,  his  companions:  18  That  they  would  de- 
sire mercies  of  the  God  of  heaven  concerning  this  secret; 
that  Daniel  and  his  fellows  should  not  perish  with  the 
rest  of  the  wise  men  of  Babylon.  19  Then  was  the  secret 
revealed  to  Daniel  in  a  night  vision.  Then  Daniel  blessed 
the  God  of  heaven.  20  Daniel  answered  and  said,  Bles- 
sed be  the  name  of  God  for  ever  and  ever:  for  wisdom 
and  might  are  his;  21  And  he  changeth  the  times  and 
the  seasons;  he  removeth  kings,  and  setteth  up  kings;  he 
giveth  wisdom  unto  the  wise,  and  knowledge  to  them  that 
know  understanding:  22  He  revealeth  the  deep  and  se- 
cret things:  he  knoweth  what  is  in  the  darkness,  and  the 
night  dwelleth  with  him.  23  I  thank  thee,  and  praise 
thee,  O  thou  God  of  my  fathers,  who  hast  given  me  wis- 
dom and  might,  and  hast  made  known  unto  me  now  what 
we  desired  of  thee :  for  thou  hast  now  made  known  unto  us 
the  king's  matter. 

The  Sublime  Aspect  of  Daniel's  Vision 
or  THE  Dream. — In  returning  full-hearted 
thanks  unto  God,  for  answering  the  four  Hebrews' 
appeal  for  mercy  in  granting  them  personal  deliv- 
erance from  this  peril  to  their  lives,  Daniel  for- 
gets personal  temporal  interest  in  glorification  of 
God  for  the  wonders  of  the  revelation  itself.  In 
verses  20-22  he  foreshadows  to  us  the  bearings  of 
the  revelation  which  is  to  be  later  recited.  He  as- 
scribes  to  God  supreme  "wisdom  and  might," 
and  he  declares  that  "He  knoweth  what  is  in  the 
darkness"  of  man's  foresight  and  "giveth  wisdom 
.  .  .  and  knowledge"  to  man  in  his  ignorance. 
Daniel  makes  particular  application  of  this  prin- 
ciple to  the  matter  of  the  dream  in  observing,  "He 
changeth  the  times  and  the  seasons :  He  removeth 


DREAM  OF  THE  GREAT  IMAGE     33 

kings  and  setteth  up  kings."  This  clearly  indi- 
cates that,  through  this  dream  of  Nebuchadnezzar, 
there  was  to  be  given  a  disclosure  from  God's  ex- 
clusive fore-knowledge  and  fore-ordination  of  vast 
political  mutations  to  come  in  the  earth. 

24  Therefore  Daniel  went  in  unto  Arioch,  whom  the 
king  had  ordained  to  destroy  the  wise  men  of  Babylon: 
he  went  in  and  said  thus  unto  him;  Destroy  not  the  wise 
men  of  Babylon:  bring  me  in  before  the  king,  and  I  will 
shew  the  king  the  interpretation.  25  Then  Arioch  brought 
in  Daniel  before  the  king  in  haste,  and  said  thus  unto 
him,  I  have  found  a  man  of  the  captives  of  Judah,  that 
will  make  known  unto  the  king  the  interpretation.  26 
The  king  answered  and  said  unto  Daniel,  whose  name  was 
Belteshazzar,  Art  thou  able  to  make  known  unto  me  the 
dream  which  I  have  seen,  and  the  interpretation  thereof? 
27  Daniel  answered  in  the  presence  of  the  king,  and  said, 
The  secret  which  the  king  hath  demanded  cannot  the  wise 
men,  the  astrologers,  the  magicians,  the  soothsayers,  shew 
unto  the  king.  28  But  there  is  a  God  in  heaven  that  re- 
vealeth  secrets,  and  maketh  known  to  the  king  Nebuchad- 
nezzar what  shall  be  in  the  latter  days.  Thy  dream,  in 
the  visions  of  thy  head  upon  thy  bed,  are  these;  29  As  for 
thee,  O  king,  thy  thoughts  came  into  thy  mind  upon  thy 
bed,  what  should  come  to  pass  hereafter:  and  he  that  re- 
vealeth  secrets  maketh  known  to  thee  what  shall  come  to 
pass.  30  But  as  for  me,  this  secret  is  not  revealed  to  me 
for  any  wisdom  that  I  have  more  than  any  living,  but  for 
their  sakes  that  shall  make  known  the  interpretation  to 
the  king,  and  that  thou  mightest  know  the  thoughts  of  thy 
heart. 

The  Focus  of  the  Revelation. — In  verses 
28-30,  Daniel  informs  the  king  in  advance,  that 
the  only  God  in  the  heavens  who  can  reveal  the 
secrets  of  the  future  was  by  this  dream  making 


34  THE  BOOK  OF  DANIEL 

"known  to  the  king  Nebuchadnezzar  what  shall 
be  in  the  latter  days"  (vs.  28),  "what  should  come 
to  pass  hereafter,"  "what  shall  come  to  pass"  (vs. 
29).  Thus  the  thing  is  focused  with  great  em- 
phasis upon  some  future  consummation,  and  that, 
"in  the  latter  days." 

We  should  right  here  get  the  standpoint  from 
which  these  "latter  days"  are  to  be  viewed.  It 
certainly  is  not  straining  in  the  least  to  note  that 
the  beginning  of  Nebuchadnezzar's  reign  marked 
most  important  political  re-adjustments  in  the 
earth.  When  Nebuchadnezzar  took  Jerusalem 
the  first  time,  "in  the  third  year  of  the  reign  of 
Jehoiakim  king  of  Judah,"  he  not  only  introduced 
the  seventy  years'  captivity  of  the  Jew^s  in  Baby- 
lon, but  he  also  introduced  the  long,  not  yet 
ended,  subjection  of  God's  chosen  kingdom  to 
Gentile  supremacy.  As  those  days  of  the  dreamer 
were  the  early  days  of  "The  Times  of  the  Gen- 
tiles," so  it  needs  to  be  perceived  that  the  dream 
was  given  to  make  known  to  him,  and  to  all  suc- 
cessors, what  should  occur  "in  the  latter  days"  of 
the  times  of  the  Gentiles.  In  the  dream  and  its 
interpretation,  then,  we  must  keep  our  attention 
riveted  upon  the  same  focus. 

31  Thou,  O  king,  sawest,  and  beheld  a  great  image. 
This  great  image,  whose  brightness  was  excellent,  stood 
before  thee;  and  the  form  thereof  was  terrible.  32  This 
image's  head  was  of  fine  gold,  his  breast  and  his  arms  of 
silver,  his  belly  and  his  thighs  of  brass,  33  His  legs  of 
iron,  his  feet  part  of  iron  and  part  of  clay.  34  Thou 
sawest  till  that  a  stone  was  cut  out  without  hands,  which 


DREAM  OF  THE  GREAT  IMAGE     35 

smote  the  image  upon  his  feet  that  were  of  iron  and  clay, 
and  brake  them  to  pieces.  35  Then  was  the  iron,  the  clay, 
the  brass,  the  silver,  and  the  gold,  broken  to  pieces  together, 
and  became  like  the  chaff  upon  the  summer  threshing- 
floors;  and  the  wind  carried  them  away,  that  no  place  was 
found  for  them:  and  the  stone  that  smote  the  image  be- 
came a  great  mountain,  and  filled  the  whole  earth. 

The  Dream  Reclaimed  to  the  King. — The 
clue  to  the  import  of  the  revelation  having  already 
been  given  to  the  king,  we  cannot  fail  to  follow  the 
progress  in  Daniel's  recital  of  the  dream  to  the 
focus  upon  which  the  king's  mind  must  have  been 
riveted ;  and  there  our  gaze  should  also  be  focused. 

Daniel  unveils  the  image  in  successive  sections 
from  the  head  to  the  feet.  Inasmuch  as  "the 
stone,"  which  demolishes  the  image,  smites  it  at 
''his  feet,"  it  is  plain  that  these  feet  belong  to  "the 
latter  days"  already  held  up  to  focal  view.  It  is 
also  clear,  that  the  emphasis  placed  upon  the  fact 
that  the  iron  of  the  legs  was  mingled  with  clay  in 
the  feet  and  in  the  toes  shows  that  this  combination 
of  radically  dissimilar  and  uncommingling  polit- 
ical elements  is  to  be  the  sign  of  the  "latter  days." 
Finally,  the  climax  of  the  dream  clearly  consists 
of  what  the  stone  does  to  the  image  and  of  what 
the  stone  becomes :  it  utterly  obliterates  the  whole 
form  and  substance  of  the  image,  and  it  becomes 
itself  a  great  mountain  filling  the  whole  earth. 

Inasmuch  as  Nebuchadnezzar  already  under- 
stood that  the  dream  related  to  some  great  politi- 
cal crisis  far  down  in  the  stream  of  time,  it  seems 
reasonable  to  suppose  that  the  dream,  as  recited  by 


36  THE  BOOK  OF  DANIEL 

Daniel  and  yet  uninterpreted,  must  have  im- 
pressed him  that  a  time  was  coming  when  the 
order  of  earthly  dominion,  with  which  he  was 
familiar  and  intoxicated,  was  to  be  utterly  abol- 
ished, and  to  be  supplanted  by  one  of  entirely  dif- 
ferent character — of  supernatural  and  superhu- 
man origin,  progress  and  prevalence. 

36  This  is  the  dream;  and  we  will  tell  the  interpreta- 
tion thereof  before  the  king.  37  Thou,  O  king,  art  a  king 
of  kings:  for  the  God  of  heaven  hath  given  thee  a  king- 
dom, power,  and  strength,  and  glory.  3S  And  whereso- 
ever the  children  of  men  dwell,  the  beasts  of  the  field  and 
the  fowls  of  the  heaven  hath  he  given  into  thine  hand,  and 
hath  made  thee  ruler  over  them  all.  Thou  art  this  head 
of  gold.  39  And  after  thee  shall  arise  another  kingdom 
inferior  to  thee,  and  another  third  kingdom  of  brass,  which 
shall  bear  rule  over  all  the  earth.  40  And  the  fourth 
kingdom  shall  be  strong  as  iron :  forasmuch  as  iron  break- 
eth  in  pieces  and  subdueth  all  things:  and  as  iron  that 
breaketh  all  these,  shall  it  break  in  pieces  and  bruise.  41 
And  whereas  thou  sawest  the  feet  and  toes,  part  of  pot- 
ters' clay,  and  part  of  iron,  the  kingdom  shall  be  divided; 
but  there  shall  be  in  it  the  strength  of  the  iron,  forasmuch 
as  thou  sawest  the  iron  mixed  with  miry  clay.  42  And 
as  the  toes  of  the  feet  were  part  of  iron,  and  part  of  clay, 
so  the  kingdom  shall  be  partly  strong,  and  partly  broken. 
43  And  whereas  thou  sawest  iron  mixed  with  miry  clay, 
they  shall  mingle  themselves  with  the  seed  of  men:  but 
they  shall  not  cleave  one  to  another,  even  as  iron  is  no* 
mixed  with  clay.  44  And  in  the  days  of  these  kings  shall 
the  God  of  heaven  set  up  a  kingdom,  which  shall  never 
be  destroyed:  and  the  kingdom  shall  not  be  left  to  other 
people,  but  it  shall  break  in  pieces  and  consume  all  these 
kingdoms,  and  it  shall  stand  forever.  45  Forasmuch  as 
thou  sawest  that  the  stone  was  cut  out  of  the  mountain 
without  hands,  that  it  brake  in  pieces  the  iron,  the  brass, 


DREAM  OF  THE  GREAT  IMAGE     37 

the  clay,  the  silver,  and  the  gold ;  the  great  God  hath  made 
known  to  the  king  what  shall  come  to  pass  hereafter :  and 
the  dream  is  certain,  and  the  interpretation  thereof  sure. 

Interpretation  of  the  Dream  of  the 
Great  Image. — The  first  salient  feature  of  the 
interpretation  consists  of  the  representation  that 
the  image  portrayed  a  succession  of  four  empires, 
of  which  Nebuchadnezzar's  was  the  first.  From 
present  historical  position  the  names  of  the  others 
are  familiar:  the  Medo-Persian,  which  succeeded 
the  Babylonian  in  538  B.  C. ;  the  Grecian,  which 
succeeded  the  Medo-Persian  in  330  B.  C. ;  and  the 
Roman,  which  succeeded  the  Grecian  in  63  B.  C. 

The  next  striking  feature  is  the  deterioration 
at  each  transition  in  quality  and  in  cohesion. 
Deterioration  in  governmental  quality  is  indicated 
by  the  succession  of  silver  to  gold,  brass  to  silver, 
iron  to  brass.  Deterioration  in  cohesion  is  indi- 
cated by  the  dual  breast  and  arms,  representing 
the  dual  empire  of  the  Medes  and  the  Persians, 
(the  four-fold  division  of  the  Grecian  Empire  is 
not  represented  in  the  image)  and  by  the  marked 
partition  of  the  two  legs. 

But  both  these  characteristics  of  deterioration 
become  most  exaggerated  in  the  last  stages  of  the 
fourth  empire,  represented  by  the  feet  and  the 
toes.  And  here  again  it  is  evident  that  these  feet 
and  toes  constitute  the  "latter  days"  of  the  history 
covered  by  the  image.  Upon  these  days  attention 
is  now  especially  riveted,  for  the  description  and 
the  interpretation  now  become  detailed  and  ex- 
tended. 


38  THE  BOOK  OF  DANIEL 

Two-fold  partition  in  the  legs  and  feet  becomes 
ten-fold  division  in  the  toes.  The  compactness 
and  the  strength  of  absolute  monarchy  are  sadly 
lost  here.  But,  not  only  has  gold  become  replaced 
by  iron  in  governmental  quality,  but  now,  in  the 
feet  and  toes — i.  e.,  in  ''the  latter  days,"  yea,  in 
the  very  last  days  of  this  span  of  Gentile  rule — 
iron  has  to  share  with  clay  in  the  governmental 
constituency.  Here  is  the  stupendous  weight  of 
imperial  government  resting  upon  a  base,  partly 
of  strong,  and  partly  of  fragile,  composition.  It 
represents  government  in  the  imperial  world  come 
to  its  most  uncertain,  destructible  condition. 
What  does  it  signify? 

The  answer  to  this  question  is  given  by  the  in- 
terpretation. "They  shall  mingle  themselves  with 
the  seed  of  men,"  verse  43.  This  clearly  means 
that,  in  the  times  of  the  feet  and  the  toes,  an  un- 
precedented feature  of  government  in  the  old  im- 
perial world  will  prevail, — that  of  the  combina- 
tion in  government  of  the  kings  with  the  populace. 
It  is  the  picture  of  limited,  constitutional,  parlia- 
mentary monarchy.  It  is  a  mingling,  but  not  a 
commingling.  "They  shall  not  cleave  one  to  an- 
other, even  as  iron  is  not  mixed  with  clay"  (vs. 
43). 

We  are  at  once  startled  with  the  evidence  that, 
historically,  we  are  already  far  along  in  the  times 
of  the  feet.  For  constitutional  monarchy  may  be 
said  to  be  already  about  a  century  old  in  Europe. 
Not  throughout  the  entire  image-territory  did  this 
condition  come  in  simultaneously.     It  has  not 


DREAM  OF  THE  GREAT  IMAGE     39 

reached  an  even  balance  in  all  the  nations  con- 
cerned yet.  But,  (writing  in  the  midst  of  the 
great  European  grapple)  it  is  being  commonly 
said  that  this  means  the  final  doom  of  the  preten- 
sion of  the  divine  right  of  kings.  It  is  also  being 
often  claimed  that  not  far  ahead  is  coming  the 
complete  triumph  of  the  populace  in  these  coun- 
tries. We  can  assuredly  say,  on  the  strength  of 
this  Scripture,  that  that  will  never  be  the  case. 
This  irreconcilable  combination  is  to  continue  till 
the  Gentile  Empire  perishes. 

It  has  just  been  said  that  we  live  in  the  "latter 
days"  of  the  feet  of  the  image.  Not  yet  are  we 
in  the  "last  days"  of  the  toes.  This  very  titanic 
international  upheaval  seems  likely  to  prove  to 
be  the  time  of  the  articulation  of  the  feet  and  the 
toes,  resulting  in  the  re-mapping  of  the  territory 
covered  by  the  image,  the  formation  of  the  last 
ten-fold  partition. 

And  what  will  that  mean?  After  dwelling  so 
explicitly  and  emphatically  upon  this  peculiarity 
of  the  "latter  days"  of  the  Gentile  times, — namely, 
the  dual,  conflicting,  non-confluent  admixture  of 
monarchy  and  democracy  in  government — and 
after  especially  dwelling  upon  the  times  of  the 
ten-fold  division  of  the  imperial  territory,  the 
interpretation  immediately  proceeds  to  its  climax 
in  the  words,  "And  in  the  days  of  these  [ten] 
kings  shall  the  God  of  heaven  set  up  a  kingdom, 
which  shall  never  be  destroyed;  and  the  king- 
dom shall  not  be  left  to  other  people,  but  it  shall 
break  in  pieces  and  consume  all  these  kingdoms, 


40  THE  BOOK  OF  DANIEL 

and  it  shall  stand  forever"  (vs.  44).  It  is  with 
awe  that  we  perceive,  then,  that  today  we  may  be 
confronting  the  last,  brief  stage  of  the  Times  of 
the  Gentiles,  to  be  terminated  by  the  arrival  of 
God's  King  from  heaven. 

As  a  vital  part  of  the  interpretation,  particular 
notice  will  now  be  given  to  the  significance  of  the 
expression,  ''the  stone."  This  most  conclusively 
points  to  Christ  as  the  Messianic  King  of  the 
Jews,  as  several  Old  Testament  passages  will 
prove.  "The  stone  which  the  builders  refused  is 
become  the  headstone  of  the  corner"  (Ps. 
118:  22).  "Therefore  thus  saith  the  Lord  God, 
Behold,  I  lay  in  Zion  for  a  foundation  a  stone,  a 
tried  stone,  a  precious  corner  stone,  a  sure  founda- 
tion" (Isaiah  28:  16).  Still  more  striking  is  an 
expression  in  Jacob's  dying  prophecy,  where  he  is 
speaking  of  the  descendants  of  Joseph  "in  the 
last  days":  "But  his  bow  abode  in  strength,  and 
the  arms  of  his  hands  were  made  strong  by  the 
hands  of  the  mighty  God  of  Jacob  (from  thence 
is  the  shepherd,  the  Stone  of  Israel)"  (Gen. 
49:24). 

God  founded  the  nation  of  Israel  upon  the 
theocratic  principle  of  government:  "Ye  shall  be 
unto  me  a  kingdom"  (Ex.  19:  6).  God  estab- 
lished His  royal  pavilion  in  their  midst  and  pre- 
scribed detailed  regulations  for 'their  happy  and 
prosperous  intercourse  with  Him  as  their  ever- 
present,  all-glorious,  sanctifying  and  preserving 
Guardian  and  Ruler.  When  they  tired  of  this 
symbolical  manifestation  of  theocratic  govern- 


DREAM  OF  THE  GREAT  IMAGE     41 

ment  and  demanded  the  establishment  of  a  visible 
monarchy  like  the  other  nations,  God  deigned  to 
grant  their  request ;  but  only  on  condition  of  hold- 
ing their  kings  accountable  to  Him  and  as  types 
of  the  Son  of  God,  who  was  their  unseen  King  and 
who  should  in  time  appear  as  their  divine-human 
Ruler.  But,  after  enduring  for  centuries  the  re- 
bellions and  idolatries  of  the  kings  and  of  the  peo- 
ple, God  suspended  theocratic  government,  ex- 
cepting in  the  mongrel  form  of  using  Gentile 
rulers  over  His  Israel.  These  were — by  such 
a  prophet  as  Daniel  and  by  such  a  book  as  he  has 
left  behind — to  be  kept  mindful  that  they  ruled 
over  Israel  only  by  God's  decree  and  until  the 
time  appointed  for  restoring  theocracy  direct  to 
Israel. 

We  should  note  w^ell,  that  with  this  dream 
as  interpreted  begins  the  one  great  theme  of  the 
book  of  Daniel, — the  superseding  of  the 
^'TiMES  or  THE  Gentiles"  as  rulers  of  the 

EARTH  BY  A  KINGDOM  WHICH  IS  TO  BE  SET  UP 
IN  THE  EARTH  BY  THE  GOD  OF  HeAVEN  AND 
WHICH   IS  TO  BE  EVERLASTING  AND   UNIVERSAL. 

But  we  are  to  remember,  that  the  point  of  time 
from  which  "the  latter  days"  were  being  viewed 
was  that  of  the  first  days  of  Israel's  subjection  to 
Gentile  rule.  Hence  the  pivotal  point  in  the  great 
transition  just  mentioned  is  the  restoration  of 
THEOCRACY  TO  IsRAEL.  It  is  of  utmost  impor- 
tance for  a  complete  understanding  of  the  book 
of  Daniel,  to  hold  in  mind  from  the  first  that  all 
the  revelations  of  the  book  proceed  from  the  stand- 


42  THE  BOOK  OF  DANIEL 

point  of  the  early  days  of  Gentile  supremacy  over 
Israel;  and  that  they  all  converge  upon  the  com- 
mon terminal  point  of  the  last  days  of  Gentile  su- 
premacy over  Israel, — the  time  when  she  shall 
pass  from  subjection  into  pre-eminence  as  the 
people  and  channel  of  God's  kingdom  in  the  earth. 
In  this  light,  then,  let  us  review  the  interpreta- 
tion. The  translation  of  the  great  Hebrew 
scholar,  Isaac  Leeser,  gives  greater  vividness  and 
distinctiveness  to  important  points.  "Thou  didst 
look  on  till  the  moment  that  a  stone  tore  itself 
loose,  not  through  [human]  hands,  and  it  struck 
the  image  upon  its  feet  that  were  of  iron  and  clay, 
and  ground  them  to  pieces"  (vs.  34).  This  viv- 
idly pictures  a  manner  of  earthly  rule  progressing 
historically  until,  in  a  moment,  an  unlike  power 
tears  itself  loose  supernaturally  from  a  foreign 
place  to  destroy  utterly  this  whole  type  of  rule. 
"And  the  stone  that  had  stricken  the  image  became 
a  mighty  mountain,  and  filled  the  whole  earth" 
(vs.  35).  The  figure  of  a  stone's  growing  into 
a  mountain  is  perfectly  consistent.  Its  filling  the 
"whole  earth,"  however,  brings  forward  the  sym- 
bolical meaning  of  the  term  "mountain,"  which  is 
a  very  common  figure  in  Scripture  and  in  ancient 
conception  for  ruling  power.  The  expression 
here,  then,  indicates  the  entrance  into  the  earth,  in 
place  of  accustomed  forms  of  government,  of  a 
rule  which,  while  comparatively  limited  to  begin 
with,  becomes  universal  in  the  earth.  "But  in  the 
days  of  these  kings  will  the  God  of  heaven  set  up 
a  kingdom,  which  shall  not  be  transferred  to  any 


DREAM  OF  THE  GREAT  IMAGE     43 

other  people  [than  whom?  Answer,  Israel]: 
but  it  will  grind  up  and  make  an  end  of  all  these 
kingdoms,  while  it  will  itself  endure  forever. 
Whereas  thou  sawest  that  out  of  the  mountain  [of 
the  heavenly  and  eternal  kingdom]  a  stone  tore 
itself  loose,  not  through  [human]  hands,  and  that 
it  ground  up  the  iron,  the  copper,  the  clay,  the  sil- 
ver, and  the  gold:  the  great  God  hath  made 
known  to  the  king  what  is  to  come  to  pass  after 
this"  (what?  Answer,  this  existing  course  of 
Gentile  rule  over  Israel). 

How  vividly  is  pictured  to  our  minds  the  sud- 
den arrival,  in  jealous  and  indignant  haste,  of  the 
Shepherd  of  Israel:  to  snatch  from  the  Gentile 
devourer  the  little  penitent  remnant;  to  obliterate 
forever  from  the  earth  the  powers  which  have  so 
long  delighted  in  tearing  the  flock;  to  make  this 
flock  His  own  particular  kingdom  in  the  earth; 
and,  as  King  of  the  Jews,  to  fill  the  earth  with  His 
own  dominion  as  the  King  of  kings  and  Lord  of 
lords ! 

46  Then  the  king  Nebuchadnezzar  fell  upon  his  face, 
and  worshipped  Daniel,  and  commanded  that  they  should 
offer  an  oblation  and  sweet  odours  unto  him.  47  The 
king  answered  unto  Daniel,  and  said,  Of  a  truth  it  is,  that 
your  God  is  a  God  of  gods,  and  a  Lord  of  kings,  and  a 
revealer  of  secrets,  seeing  thou  couldest  reveal  this  secret. 
48  Then  the  king  made  Daniel  a  great  man,  and  gave  him 
many  great  gifts,  and  made  him  ruler  over  the  whole 
province  of  Babylon,  and  chief  of  the  governors  over  all 
the  wise  men  of  Babylon.  49  Then  Daniel  requested  of 
the  king,  and  he  set  Shadrach,  Meshach,  and  Abed-nego, 
over  the  affairs  of  the  province  of  Babylon:  but  Daniel 
sat  in  the  gate  of  the  king. 


44  THE  BOOK  OF  DANIEL 

The  Practical  Effect  upon  Nebuchad- 
nezzar.— These  final  verses  indicate  that  God's 
object  in  disclosing  to  Nebuchadnezzar  this  stu- 
pendous drama  of  the  last  days  was,  not  so  much 
merely  to  give  him  the  information,  as  to  bring 
him,  as  the  first  of  the  monarchs  of  the  Times  of 
the  Gentiles,  to  know  and  to  acknowledge  his  place 
in  relation  to  Israel's  God  and  to  God's  Israel. 
Here  is,  wittingly  or  not,  a  trinitarian  acknowl- 
edgement of  God:  as  supreme  God,  as  supreme 
King,  and  as  the  omniscient  Revealer  (vs.  47). 
How  strikingly  this  corresponds  to  the  actual 
Trinity:  God  Almighty,  the  Father;  the  Son  of 
God,  ''the  blessed  and  only  Potentate,  the  King  of 
kings,  and  Lord  of  lords"  ( 1  Tim.  6 :  15);  and  the 
Holy  Spirit,  who  "searcheth  all  things,  yea,  the 
deep  things  of  God,"  which  "things  of  God  know- 
eth  no  man,  but  the  Spirit  of  God"  and  "which  the 
Holy  Ghost  teacheth"  (1  Cor.  2:  10-12).  But 
this  acknowledgment  was  to  the  triune  God  as 
Daniel's,  as  Israel's,  God.  "Of  a  truth  it  is,  that 
your  God"  is  such,  the  king  says.  Accordingly, 
the  only  consistent  thing  was  to  give  this  God's 
servants  the  places  in  honor  and  in  usefulness  in 
the  Gentile  Empire  which  He  wished  them  to 
occupy. 

We  already  see,  then,  what  the  book  of  Daniel, 
means,  not  only  to  Israel  and  to  the  Church,  as 
a  revelation  of  the  coming  restoration  of  Israel 
to  the  kingdom  in  the  earth,  but  also  to  all  rulers 
of  Gentile  times,  as  a  revelation  of  their  account- 
ability to  God  and  of  their  obligations  to  God  with 


DREAM  OF  THE  GREAT  IMAGE  4^ 

reference  to  Israel.  Surveying  the  history  of  the 
imperial  world  of  the  East  from  Nebuchadnezzar 
to  the  present  day,  we  can  clearly  see  what  judg- 
ment awaits  the  nations  when  ''The  Shepherd,  the 
Stone  of  Israel"  shall  come.  How  important  is 
the  book  of  Daniel  as  a  manual  of  statesmanship 
for  these  as  well  as  for  past  days,  and  as  "a  testi- 
mony unto  kings"  in  the  hands  of  every  ambassa- 
dor of  Jesus  Christ !  How  pitiful  and  fatal  it  is, 
that  the  book  of  Daniel  is  practically  unknown  to 
rulers  and  statesmen,  just  because  it  is  practically 
a  sealed  or  inconsequential  book  to  the  ambassa- 
dors of  Jesus  Christ  in  the  earth  today ! 


Ill 

NEBUCHADNEZZAR'S  IMAGE  OF  GOLD 

1  Nebuchadnezzar  the  king  made  an  image  of  gold, 
whose  height  was  threescore  cubits,  and  the  breadth 
thereof  six  cubits:  he  set  it  up  in  the  plain  of  Dura,  in 
the  province  of  Babylon. 

The  Image. — The  proportions  of  this  struc- 
ture show  that  it  was  in  the  shape  of  a  man  90  or 
110  feet  high  by  9  or  11  feet  broad,  according  to 
whether  we  take  the  cubit  of  18  or  that  of  22 
inches.  The  purpose  of  such  a  colossal  statue 
was  evidently  to  enable  a  vast  concourse  of  people 
to  behold  and  worship  it  simultaneously.  To  this 
end  it  was  erected  in  an  open  plain.  As  an  "im- 
age," it  was  not  intended  to  serve  as  a  mere  crea- 
tion of  art,  but  to  represent  some  person.  Its 
composition  of  gold  (Quite  likely  it  was  con- 
structed of  wood  within  and  overlaid  with  gold) 
suggests  that  it  was  an  image  of  Nebuchadnezzar 
himself,  made  in  recollection  of  Daniel's  v/ords: 
"Thou  art  that  head  of  gold"  (2:  37).  It  may, 
however,  have  been  an  image  of  Nebuchadnez- 
zar's favorite  god,  Merodach,  "the  lord  of  battles." 
We  are  reminded  of  another  great  image,  which  is 
to  be  made  for  enforced  worship  in  the  last  days 
(Rev.  13:  14,  15).  Nebuchadnezzar  may  be  con- 
sidered as  playing  the  role  of  a  type  of  the  coming 

Antichrist. 

46 


NEBUCHADNEZZAR'S  IMAGE       47 

2  Then  Nebuchadnezzar  the  king  sent  to  gather  to- 
gether the  princes,  the  governors,  and  the  captains,  the 
judges,  the  treasurers,  the  counsellors,  the  sheriffs,  and  all 
the  rulers  of  the  provinces,  to  come  to  the  dedication  of  the 
image  which  Nebuchadnezzar  the  king  had  set  up.  3 
Then  the  princes,  the  governors,  and  captains,  the  judges, 
the  treasurers,  the  counsellors,  the  sheriffs,  and  all  the 
rulers  of  the  provinces,  were  gathered  together  unto  the 
dedication  of  the  image  that  Nebuchadnezzar  the  king 
had  set  up;  and  they  stood  before  the  image  that  Nebu- 
chadnezzar had  set  up.  4  Then  a  herald  cried  aloud,  To 
you  it  is  commanded,  O  people,  nations,  and  languages, 
5  That  at  what  time  ye  hear  the  sound  of  the  comet,  flute, 
harp,  sackbut,  psaltery,  dulcimer,  and  all  kinds  of  music, 
ye  shall  fall  down  and  worship  the  golden  image  that 
Nebuchadnezzar  the  king  hath  set  up.  6  And  whoso  fall- 
eth  not  down  and  worshippeth  shall  the  same  hour  be  cast 
into  the  midst  of  a  burning  fiery  furnace.  7  Therefore 
at  that  time,  when  all  the  people  heard  the  sound  of  the 
comet,  flute,  harp,  sackbut,  psaltery,  and  all  kinds  of 
music,  all  the  people,  the  nations,  and  the  languages,  fell 
down  and  worshipped  the  golden  image  that  Nebuchad- 
nezzar the  king  had  set  up. 

Dedication  of  the  Image. — It  is  to  be  no- 
ticed that  this  is  not  a  directly  popular,  but  an  ex- 
clusively official,  dedication  and  worship  of  the 
image.  And  yet  it  appears  from  the  sequel  that 
the  official  line  was  drawn  in  a  way  not  to  include 
Daniel,  while  it  included  his  three  friends  who  had 
been  set  "over  the  affairs  of  the  province  of  Baby- 
lon" (2:49).  The  object  apparently  was  to 
create  a  uniform,  compulsory  official  religious  ac- 
knowledgment for  the  whole  Empire.  Although 
an  evident  imperial  advantage,  yet  this  was  an  act 
of  absolute  legal  intolerance  in  matters  of  reli- 


48  THE  BOOK  OF  DANIEL 

gious  conscience.  Enforcing  by  physical  and 
capital  penalty  carried  religion  no  further  than 
compulsory  conformity. 

8  Wherefore  at  that  time  certain  Chaldeans  came  near, 
and  accused  the  Jews.  9  They  spake  and  said  to  the 
king  Nebuchadnezzar,  O  king,  Hve  forever.  10  Thou, 
O  king,  hast  made  a  decree,  that  every  man  that  shall  hear 
the  sound  of  the  cornet,  flute,  harp,  sackbut,  psaltery,  dul- 
cimer, and  all  kinds  of  music,  shall  fall  down  and  wor- 
ship the  golden  image:  11  And  whoso  falleth  not  down 
and  worshippeth,  that  he  should  be  cast  into  the  midst 
of  a  burning  fiery  furnace.  12  There  are  certain  Jews 
whom  thou  hast  set  over  the  affairs  of  the  province  of 
Babylon,  Shadrach,  Meshach,  and  Abed-nego;  these  men, 
O  king,  have  not  regarded  thee:  they  serve  not  thy  gods, 
nor  worship  the  golden  image  which  thou  hast  set  up. 

The  Three  Hebrew  Protestants. — Most 
conspicuous  must  have  been  the  act  of  non-con- 
formity on  the  part  of  Shadrach,  Meshach  and 
Abed-nego.  They  were  immediately  accused  be- 
fore the  autocrat  of  all  the  world  on  three  well-put 
charges:  1.  "These  men  have  not  regarded  thee, 
O  King."  2.  "They  serve  not  thy  gods,"  or,  as 
Leeser  puts  it,  "Thy  god  they  do  not  worship." 
3.  "Nor  worship  the  golden  image  which  thou 
hast  set  up";  or,  to  quote  from  Leeser  again,  "and 
to  the  golden  image  which  thou  hast  set  up  they 
do  not  bow  themselves."  Here  is  implied  per- 
sonal contempt  toward  the  king,  flagrant  dissent  in 
worship,  and  official  rebellion  in  the  matter  of  the 
image. 

13  Then  Nebuchadnezzar  in  his  rage  and  fury  com- 
manded  to   bring   Shadrach,   Meshach,   and   Abed-nego. 


NEBUCHADNEZZAR'S  IMAGE       49 

Then  they  brought  these  men  before  the  king.  14  Neb- 
uchadnezzar spake  and  said  unto  them,  Is  it  true,  O  Shad- 
rach,  Meshach,  and  Abed-nego,  do  not  ye  serve  my  gods, 
nor  worship  the  golden  image  which  I  have  set  up?  15 
Now  if  ye  be  ready  that  at  what  time  ye  hear  the  sound  of 
the  cornet,  flute,  harp,  sackbut,  psaltery,  and  dulcimer,  and 
all  kinds  of  music,  ye  fall  down  and  worship  the  image 
which  I  have  made;  well :  but  if  ye  worship  not,  ye  shall  be 
cast  the  same  hour  into  the  midst  of  a  burning  fiery  fur- 
nace; and  who  is  that  God  that  shall  deliver  you  out  of  my 
hands?  16  Shadrach,  Meshach,  and  Abed-nego,  answered 
and  said  to  the  king,  O  Nebuchadnezzar,  we  are  not  careful 
to  answer  you  in  this  matter.  17  If  it  be  so,  our  God 
whom  we  serve  is  able  to  deliver  us  from  the  burning  fiery 
furnace,  and  he  will  deliver  us  out  of  thine  hand,  O  king. 
18  But  if  not,  be  it  known  unto  thee,  O  king,  that  we  will 
not  serve  thy  gods,  nor  worship  the  golden  image  which 
thou  hast  set  up. 

The  Challenge  Accepted. — The  three  He- 
brew non-conformists  are  summarily  haled  before 
the  furious  monarch  and  called  in  question  as  to 
the  meaning  of  their  act.  It  is  proposed,  however, 
to  have  the  ceremony  of  homage  repeated,  in  order 
to  give  the  dissenters  opportunity  to  conform,  or, 
otherwise,  to  be  condemned  to  the  burning  fiery 
furnace.  The  king  now  touches  the  vital  point  of 
the  issue  between  himself  and  these  brave  sub- 
jects: "And  who  is  that  God  that  shall  deliver 
you  out  of  my  hands?" 

This  defiant  challenge  opens  the  whole  matter 
wonderfully  to  us.  Nebuchadnezzar  well  knew 
what  God  he  was  defying,  and  he  was  kicking 
against  the  pricks.  When  his  dream  of  the  great 
image  was  interpreted  by  Daniel,  the  king  ac- 
knowledged the  God  of  Daniel  and  of  the  Jews  to 


so  THE  BOOK  OF  DANIEL 

be  the  supreme  God.  On  the  present  occasion  he 
is  challenging  that  God  to  dispute  his  power  over 
the  bodies  of  these  faithful  believers.  How  can 
we  account  for  so  radical  a  change  on  Nebuchad- 
nezzar's part? 

Not,  probably,  wholly  on  the  ground  of  the  nat- 
ural relapse  of  an  unregenerate  heathen  heart. 
It  is  legitimate  to  assume  that,  since  that  former 
occasion  in  603  B.  C.,  Nebuchadnezzar  had  taken 
Jerusalem  the  second  time  (in  598  B.  C.),  and 
had  taken  away  the  great  "Captivity  of  Jehoia- 
chin,"  including  many  precious  vessels  from  the 
temple  of  Jehovah;  furthermore,  that  he  had  the 
third  time  come  against  the  city  of  Jehovah,  de- 
stroyed it,  rifled  and  consumed  to  ashes  the  house 
of  Jehovah  itself,  as  he  did  in  587  B.  C,  and  left 
the  Holy  Land  in  desolation. 

Remember  that  ancient  conquerors  believed  that 
their  victories  represented  the  triumph  of  their  own 
gods  over  the  gods  of  their  vanquished  foes.  To 
Nebuchadnezzar  it  would  be  conclusive,  that  his 
final  destruction  of  Jehovah's  earthly  kingdom, 
beautiful  city  and  holy  temple,  meant  that  Je- 
hovah was  not  the  supreme  divinity,  but  that  his 
own  Merodach — his  "Lord  of  Battles" — was 
Jehovah's  superior,  yea,  the  superior  of  all  di- 
vinities, the  one  supreme  god.  And  the  image 
probably  meant  that  Nebuchadnezzar  considered 
himself,  as  the  earthly  son  and  favorite  of  this 
supreme  god,  entitled  to  all  earthly  homage. 
Hence,  the  refusal  of  these  Hebrews  infuriated  the 
king's  self-deifying  pride. 


NEBUCHADNEZZAR'S  IMAGE       51 

This  occasion  may  be  set,  then,  at  about  twenty 
years  after  the  former  one.  In  those  years  Nebu- 
chadnezzar had,  by  his  continuous  victories,  ap- 
parently proved  himself  mighty  through  his  own 
god  against  every  other  god,  even  the  One  whom 
he  had  twenty  years  before  felt  compelled  to  ac- 
knowledge as  unequalled. 

The  challenge  of  this  son  of  Merodach  is  ac- 
cepted by  the  sons  of  Jehovah.  What  else  could 
the  children  of  God  do?  Alas,  how  often,  how- 
ever, professing  children  of  God  and  followers  of 
Jesus  Christ  bow  to  much  less  formidable  religious 
challenges  and  dictates  of  this  world  and  its  god ! 
It  is  noteworthy,  that,  while  the  Hebrews  believe 
fully  in  the  possibility  of  miraculous  deliverance 
by  their  God,  yet  they  do  not  make  that  a  condi- 
tion of  their  refusal  to  compromise  His  name. 
This  is  the  spirit  of  all  true  martyrdom.  None  of 
us  will  ever  win  "the  crown  of  life,"  excepting  "we 
love  not  our  lives  unto  the  death,"  excepting  we 
are  committed  to  be  "faithful  unto  death";  which 
does  not  mean  until  we  die  a  natural  death,  but 
unto  the  extreme  of  suffering  death  for  our  fidelity. 

19  Then  was  Nebuchadnezzar  full  of  fury,  and  the  form 
of  his  visage  was  changed  against  Shadrach,  Meshach,  and 
Abed-nego:  therefore  he  spake,  and  commanded  that  they 
should  heat  the  furnace  one  seven  times  more  than  it  was 
wont  to  be  heated.  20  And  he  commanded  the  most 
mighty  men  that  were  in  his  army  to  bind  Shadrach,  Me- 
shach, and  Abed-nego,  and  to  cast  them  into  the  burning 
fiery  furnace.  21  Then  these  men  were  bound  in  their 
coats,  their  hosen,  and  their  hats,  and  their  other  garments, 
and  were  cast  into  the  midst  of  the  burning  fiery  furnace. 


52  THE  BOOK  OF  DANIEL 

22  Therefore  because  the  king's  commandment  was  urgent, 
and  the  furnace  exceeding  hot,  the  flame  of  the  fire  slew 
those  men  that  took  up  Shadrach,  Meshach,  and  Abed- 
nego.  23  And  these  three  men,  Shadrach,  Meshach,  and 
Abed-nego,  fell  down  bound  into  the  midst  of  the  burning 
fiery  furnace.  24  Then  Nebuchadnezzar  the  king  was 
astonied,  and  rose  up  in  haste,  and  spake,  and  said  unto 
his  counsellors,  Did  not  we  cast  three  men  bound  into  the 
midst  of  the  fire  ?  They  answered  and  said  unto  the  king, 
True,  O  king.  25  He  answered  and  said,  Lo,  I  see  four 
men  loose,  walking  in  the  midst  of  the  fire,  and  they  have 
no  hurt ;  and  the  form  of  the  fourth  is  like  the  Son  of  God. 

26  Then  Nebuchadnezzar  came  near  to  the  mouth  of  the 
burning  fiery  furnace,  and  spake,  and  said,  Shadrach, 
Meshach,  and  Abed-nego,  ye  servants  of  the  most  high 
God,  come  forth,  and  come  hither.  Then  Shadrach,  Me- 
shach, and  Abed-nego,  came  forth  of  the  midst  of  the  fire. 

27  And  the  princes,  governors,  and  captains,  and  the 
king's  counsellors,  being  gathered  together,  saw  these  men, 
upon  whose  bodies  the  fire  had  no  power,  nor  was  a  hair  of 
their  head  singed,  neither  were  their  coats  changed,  nor 
the  smell  of  fire  had  passed  upon  them. 

Quenched  the  Violence  of  Fire. — ''Upon 
whose  bodies  the  fire  had  no  power."  Their 
bands  only  were  burned  from  them.  Even  the 
king's  eye  was  riveted  upon  that  "form  of  the 
fourth"  "walking  in  the  midst  of  the  fire"  with 
the  valiant  three.  His  presence  was  the  secret  of 
their  unharmed  condition.  How  forcibly  are  we 
reminded  of  "The  Burning  Bush" :  "Behold  the 
bush  burned  with  fire,  and  the  bush  was  not  con- 
sumed" (Ex.  3:2).  This  represented  to  Moses 
the  indestructibility  of  Israel  in  Egyptian  bond- 
age because  of  God's  preserving  presence.  And 
Isaiah  had  given  God's  promise  of  Israel's  inde- 


NEBUCHADNEZZAR'S  IMAGE       53 

structibility  during  this  very  Babylonian  Captiv- 
ity: "When  thou  walkest  through  the  fire,  thou 
shalt  not  be  burned :  neither  shall  the  flame  kindle 
upon  thee"  (43:  2).  And  this  accounts  for  the 
imperishability  of  this  people  to  this  day.  And 
God  promised  through  Zechariah  this  indestructi- 
bility of  the  final  remnant  of  Israel  in  the  last 
days:  "I  will  bring  the  third  part  through  the 
fire,  and  will  refine  them  as  silver  is  refined,  and 
will  try  them  as  gold  is  tried"  (13:  9 ) .  This  last 
ordeal  of  fire  will  forever  consume  away  all  their 
dross. 

There  is  further  force  in  Nebuchadnezzar's 
words,  "And  the  form  of  the  fourth  is  like  the  Son 
of  God"  (vs.  25).  Poor,  puny,  impotent  man! 
How  was  he  taken  in  the  very  act  of  exalting  him- 
self as  the  son  of  the  highest  divinity !  How  was 
he  humbled  to  the  level  of  trembling  mortal  clay 
by  the  sight  of  the  true  Son  of  God,  and  by  the 
proof  of  His  puissance  in  rendering  the  most  de- 
structive element  harmless  to  His  loyal  followers ! 

28  Then  Nebuchadnezzar  spake,  and  said,  Blessed  be 
the  God  of  Shadrach,  Meshach,  and  Abed-nego,  who  hath 
sent  his  angel,  and  delivered  his  servants  that  trusted  in 
him,  and  have  changed  the  king's  word,  and  yielded  their 
bodies,  that  they  might  not  serve  nor  worship  any  god,  ex- 
cept their  own  God.  29  Therefore  I  make  a  decree.  That 
every  people,  nation,  and  language,  which  speak  any  thing 
amiss  against  the  God  of  Shadrach,  Meshach,  and  Abed- 
nego,  shall  be  cut  in  pieces,  and  their  houses  shall  be 
made  a  dunghill;  because  there  is  no  other  God  that  can 
deliver  after  this  sort.  30  Then  the  king  promoted 
Shadrach,  Meshach,  and  Abed-nego,  in  the  province  of 
Babylon. 


54  THE  BOOK  OF  DANIEL 

Religious  Toleration  for  Israel. — Just  as 
the  close  of  the  previous  chapter — reciting  the 
effect  produced  upon  the  king  as  shown  in  his  ac- 
knowledging Israel's  Jehovah  as  supreme  God — 
disclosed  the  supreme  design  of  God  in  giving  the 
dream,  so  here  again :  these  last  verses  of  the  chap- 
ter reveal  that  the  miracle  was  intended,  not  only 
as  a  deliverance,  or  as  a  wonder  in  the  king's 
sight,  but  that  its  supreme  object  was  to  extract 
from  him  on  substantial  grounds  this  decree  of 
religious  toleration  for  captive  and  dispersed  Is- 
rael. The  king's  acknowledgment  that  there  was 
no  god  like  their  God  is  not  the  main  point  now, 
but  it  is  taken  as  the  ground  for  a  decree  of  abso- 
lute freedom  for  the  Jews  to  worship  Him  without 
molestation  or  discrimination  anywhere  in  the 
wide  Empire.  And  this  was  not  intended  by  God 
to  be  a  temporary  attitude  of  the  Gentile  powers, 
but  as  the  attitude  to  be  observed  by  all  rulers 
toward  the  Israelites  in  their  lands  throughout  the 
entire  ''Times  of  the  Gentiles."  According  to 
this  early  requisition  of  Jehovah,  then,  all  suc- 
ceeding rulers  shall  be  judged  concerning  their 
treatment  of  the  Jews  in  respect  to  their  liberty 
and  dignity  as  worshippers  of  God.  Even  though 
Jewish  worship  long  ago  became  a  mere  shell,  and 
although  God  has  long  been  punishing  the  Jews 
with  bitter  religious  persecutions,  yet,  when  the 
judgment  comes.  He  will  requite  their  persecutors 
and  their  scorners  according  to  their  despke  to- 
ward them  as  the  people  of  God's  choice.  •;^" 


IV 
DREAM  OF  THE  GREAT  TREE 

1  Nebuchadnezzar  the  king,  unto  all  people,  nations, 
and  languages,  that  dwell  in  all  the  earth ;  Peace  be  multi- 
plied unto  you.  2  I  thought  it  good  to  shew  the  signs  and 
wonders  that  the  high  God  hath  wrought  toward  me.  3 
How  great  are  his  signs !  and  how  mighty  are  his  wonders ! 
his  kingdom  is  an  everlasting  kingdom,  and  his  dominion 
is  from  generation  to  generation. 

A  Notable  Testimony. — How  impressive  is 
the  fact,  that  this  whole  long  chapter  of  the  book 
of  Daniel  is  contributed,  word  for  word,  by  the 
first  and  greatest  monarch  of  the  Times  of  the 
Gentiles,  as  his  personal,  loving  testimony  to  the 
glory  and  honor  of  our  Christ,  for  the  dealings  by 
which  He  brought  this  proudest  of  autocrats  to 
surrender  fully  and  finally  to  him !  How  loyally 
this  monarch  takes  advantage  of  his  unparalleled 
position  of  authority  and  dominion  to  give  the 
widest  and  most  effective  possible  publicity  to  his 
undisguised  adoration  of  the  Most  High !  Herein 
is  given  a  most  worthy  example  to  every  truly  be- 
lieving ruler  until  the  Son  of  God  comes  in  His 
kingdom. 

4  I  Nebuchadnezzar  was  at  rest  in  mine  house,  and 
flourishing  in  my  palace:  5  I  saw  a  dream  which  made 
me  afraid,  and  the  thoughts  upon  my  bed  and  the  visions 
of  my  head  troubled  me.  6  Therefore  made  I  a  decree 
to  bring  all  the  wise  men  of  Babylon  before  me,  that  they 

55 


56  THE  BOOK  OF  DANIEL 

might  make  known  unto  me  the  interpretation  of  the  dream. 
7  Then  came  in  the  magicians,  the  astrologers,  the  Chal- 
deans, and  the  soothsayers:  and  I  told  the  dream  before 
them;  but  they  did  not  make  known  unto  me  the  interpre- 
tation thereof.  8  But  at  the  last  Daniel  came  in  before 
me,  whose  name  was  Belteshazzar,  according  to  the  name 
of  my  god,  and  in  whom  is  the  spirit  of  the  holy  gods;  and 
before  him  I  told  the  dream,  saying,  9  O  Belteshazzar, 
master  of  the  magicians,  because  I  know  that  the  spirit  of 
the  holy  gods  is  in  thee,  and  no  secret  troubleth  thee,  tell 
me  the  visions  of  my  dream  that  I  have  seen,  and  the  inter- 
pretation thereof. 

The  Qualified  Interpreter. — "There  is  a 
spirit  in  man :  and  the  inspiration  of  the  Almighty 
giveth  them  understanding"  (Job  32:  8).  There 
is,  no  doubt,  intercourse  with  the  upper  and  un- 
seen world.  Communications  from  there,  how- 
ever, are  not  necessarily  to  be  relied  upon  as  from 
God.  Spiritism  has  its  messages  for  those  who 
"seek  unto  them  that  have  familiar  spirits";  but, 
"should  not  a  people  seek  unto  their  God?"  (Is. 
8:  19.)  One  thing  is  certain:  no  one,  who  has 
not  the  confidence  and  favor  of  God,  can  obtain 
or  steal  the  secrets  of  the  Almighty.  A  Balaam 
may  be  whipped  into  God's  service  as  his  messen- 
ger. But  it  remains  a  blessed  fact,  that  children 
of  God  can  find  out  from  direct  sources  every  se- 
cret which  it  is  right  for  them  to  have  and  every, 
secret  which  they  need  to  have.  It  is  also  true, 
that,  if  we  will  only  take  due  precaution,  Satan's 
confidants  cannot  palm  off  his  communications 
upon  us  as  God's.  While  it  is  not  to  be  inferred 
that  every  believer  may  have  Daniel's  gift  of  inter- 


DREAM  OF  THE  GREAT  TREE     57 

pretation,  yet  it  is  Scriptural  to  expect  the  Lord  to 
provide  this  gift  among  His  people  "to  profit 
withal"  (1  Cor.  12:  7).  God  has  His  plans  now 
as  He  had  then,  in  matters  small  as  well  as  great, 
and  He  has  ample  resources  laid  up  for  all  occa- 
sions. Yet,  no  doubt,  much  of  this  provision  fails 
to  be  brought  to  light  by  His  appointed  instru- 
ments for  the  benefit  of  His  people  and  of  the 
world. 

Few  are  willing  to  be  used  to  communicate 
publicly  and  without  hesitancy  the  secrets  of  God, 
which  He  would  entrust  to  them  for  His  people 
and  even  for  the  world.  While  New  Testament 
"prophesying  serveth"  mainly,  even  as  Old  Tes- 
tament prophesying  also  did,  for  "edification,  and 
exhortation,  and  comfort,"  yet  it  also  embraces 
the  service  of  "revelation"  (1  Cor.  14:  26).  We 
are  not  left  to  expect  further  prophetical  predic- 
tions since  the  canon  of  Scripture  was  closed ;  but 
there  is  still  left  great  room  for  and  need  of  divine 
revelation  and  interpretation  akin  to  that  found 
in  this  chapter  of  Daniel. 

10  Thus  were  the  visions  of  mine  head  in  my  bed;  I 
saw,  and  behold  a  tree  in  the  midst  of  the  earth,  and  the 
height  thereof  was  great.  11  The  tree  grew,  and  was 
strong,  and  the  height  thereof  reached  unto  heaven,  and  the 
sight  thereof  to  the  end  of  all  the  earth.  12  The  leaves 
thereof  were  fair,  and  the  fruit  thereof  much,  and  it  was 
meat  for  all:  the  beasts  of  the  field  had  shadow  under  it, 
and  the  fowls  of  heaven  dwelt  in  the  boughs  thereof,  and 
all  flesh  was  fed  of  it.  13  1  saw  in  the  visions  of  my  head 
upon  my  bed,  and,  behold,  a  watcher  and  a  holy  one  came 
down  from  heaven;   14  He  cried  aloud,  and  said  thus, 


58  THE  BOOK  OF  DANIEL 

Hew  down  the  tree,  and  cut  off  his  branches,  shake  off  his 
leaves,  and  scatter  his  fruit:  let  the  beasts  get  away  from 
under  it,  and  the  fowls  from  his  branches:  15  Never- 
theless, leave  the  stump  of  his  roots  in  the  earth,  even  with 
a  band  of  iron  and  brass,  in  the  tender  grass  of  the  field ; 
and  let  it  be  wet  with  the  dew  of  heaven,  and  let  his  por- 
tion be  with  the  beasts  in  the  grass  of  the  earth:  16  Let 
his  heart  be  changed  from  man's,  and  let  a  beast's  heart  be 
given  unto  him;  and  let  seven  times  pass  over  him.  17 
This  matter  is  by  the  decree  of  the  watchers,  and  the  de- 
mand by  the  word  of  the  holy  ones:  to  the  intent  that  the 
living  may  know  that  the  Most  High  ruleth  in  the  kingdom 
of  men,  and  giveth  it  to  whomsoever  he  will,  and  setteth  up 
over  it  the  basest  of  men.  18  This  dream  I  king  Nebu- 
chadnezzar have  seen.  Now  thou,  O  Belteshazzar,  declare 
the  interpretation  thereof,  forasmuch  as  all  the  wise  men 
of  my  kingdom  are  not  able  to  make  known  unto  me  the 
interpretation :  but  thou  art  able ;  for  the  spirit  of  the  holy 
gods  is  in  thee. 

The  King's  Dream. — This  dream  almost 
fully  explains  itself ;  for  it  is  as  a  dissolving  view, 
the  symbol  passing  into  the  reality.  But  the  ap- 
plication of  it  remained  a  mystery  to  the  king.  In 
the  latter  part  of  verse  15  and  in  verse  16  the  im- 
personal symbol  dissolves  into  a  personal  and  lit- 
eral representation,  namely,  that  of  some  great  one 
represented  by  the  tree,  who  was  to  be  transformed 
in  consciousness,  disposition  and  conduct  into  an 
animal;  and  in  that  state  he  was  to  continue  till 
''seven  times  [or  years]  passed  over  him."  This 
experience  is  declared  to  be  inflicted  by  heavenly 
decree,  for  the  purpose  of  bringing  this  one,  and 
all  others  of  the  "living,"  to  ''know  that  the  Most 
High  ruleth  in  the  kingdom  of  men,  and  giveth  it 
to  whomsoever  He  will,  and  setteth  up  over  it  the 


DREAM  OF  THE  GREAT  TREE  59 

basest  of  men"  (vs.  17).  The  idea  is,  that  those 
who  rule  should  understand  that  they  are  simply 
ordained  of  God  to  rule;  not  as  a  sign  of  their 
greatness, — for  He  shows  in  this  case  that  He  can 
set  up,  at  His  pleasure,  the  basest  of  men. 

19  Then  Daniel,  whose  name  was  Belteshazzar,  was 
astonied  for  one  hour,  and  his  thoughts  troubled  him.  The 
king  spake,  and  said,  Belteshazzar,  let  not  the  dream,  or 
the  interpretation  thereof,  trouble  thee.  Belteshazzar  an- 
swered and  said.  My  lord,  the  dream  be  to  them  that  hate 
thee,  and  the  interpretation  thereof  to  thine  enemies.  20 
The  tree  that  thou  sawest,  which  grew,  and  was  strong, 
whose  height  reached  unto  the  heaven,  and  the  sight  thereof 
to  all  the  earth:  21  Whose  leaves  were  fair,  and  the  fruit 
thereof  much,  and  it  was  meat  for  all;  under  which  the 
beasts  of  the  field  dwelt,  and  upon  whose  branches  the 
fowls  of  the  heaven  had  their  habitation:  22  It  is  thou, 
O  king,  that  art  grown  and  become  strong:  for  thy  great- 
ness is  grown,  and  reacheth  unto  heaven,  and  thy  dominion 
to  the  end  of  the  earth.  23  And  whereas  the  king  saw  a 
watcher  and  a  holy  one  coming  down  from  heaven,  and 
saying.  Hew  the  tree  down,  and  destroy  it:  yet  leave  the 
stump  of  the  roots  thereof  in  the  earth,  even  with  a  band  of 
iron  and  brass,  in  the  tender  grass  of  the  field;  and  let  it 
be  wet  with  the  dew  of  heaven,  and  let  his  portion  be  with 
the  beasts  of  the  field,  till  seven  times  pass  over  him:  24 
This  is  the  interpretation,  O  king,  and  this  is  the  decree 
of  the  Most  High,  which  is  come  upon  my  lord  the  king: 
25  That  they  shall  drive  thee  from  men,  and  thy  dwelling 
shall  be  with  the  beasts  of  the  field,  and  they  shall  make 
thee  to  eat  grass  as  oxen,  and  they  shall  wet  thee  with  the 
dew  of  heaven,  and  seven  times  shall  pass  over  thee,  till 
thou  know  that  the  Most  High  ruleth  in  the  kingdom  of 
men,  and  giveth  it  to  whomsoever  he  will.  26  And 
whereas  they  commanded  to  leave  the  stump  of  the  tree 
roots;  thy  kingdom  shall  be  sure  unto  thee,  after  that  thou 
shalt  have  known  that  the  heavens  do  rule. 


6o  THE  BOOK  OF  DANIEL 

The  Fateful  Dream  Interpreted  and  Ap- 
plied.— Daniel's  reverence,  affection  and  good- 
will for  Nebuchadnezzar,  his  captor  and  autocrat, 
is  shown  by  the  profound  dismay  which  the  truth 
of  the  matter  caused  him,  and  by  his  sincere  wish 
that  the  application  of  the  decree  might  be  to  the 
king's  enemies.  Nevertheless,  the  faithful  serv- 
ant of  Christ  fearlessly  and  fully  declared  the  de- 
cree of  heaven  against  the  monarch.  Yet  how 
gracious  it  all  is:  ''till  thou  know  that  the  Most 
High  ruleth  in  the  kingdom  of  men,  and  giveth  it 
to  whomsoever  He  will."  How  blessed,  as  well  as 
important,  for  a  ruler  to  know  this!  Complaint 
might  almost  justly  be  lodged  against  God,  if  He 
left  man  without  the  provision  of  such  important 
and  blessed  knowledge.  Grace  is  further  dis- 
played in  the  assurance,  "thy  kingdom  shall  be 
sure  unto  thee,  after  that  thou  shalt  have  known 
that  the  heavens  do  rule"  (vs.  26). 

27  Wherefore,  O  king,  let  my  counsel  be  acceptable 
unto  thee,  and  break  off  thy  sins  by  righteousness,  and 
thine  iniquities  by  shewing  mercy  to  the  poor;  if  it  may 
be  a  lengthening  of  thy  tranquillity.  28  All  this  came 
upon  the  king  Nebuchadnezzar.  29  At  the  end  of  twelve 
months  he  walked  in  the  palace  of  the  kingdom  of  Babylon. 
30  The  king  spake,  and  said,  Is  not  this  great  Babylon, 
that  I  have  built  for  the  house  of  the  kingdom  by  the  might 
of  my  power,  and  for  the  honour  of  my  majesty? 

Probation  Abused. — Most  faithfully  and  per- 
suasively Daniel  exhorted  the  king  to  repent  and 
to  do  the  works  of  righteousness  and  benevolence. 
It  is  clearly  implied  that  the  decree  is  not  one  of 


DREAM  OF  THE  GREAT  TREE  61 

fate,  but  that  it  is  accompanied  by  long-suffering 
and  readiness  still  to  forgive  and  to  prosper,  even 
as  in  the  case  of  Nineveh's  repentance  under  Jon- 
ah's less  gracious  preaching  two  and  one-half  cen- 
turies before.  But,  after  a  probation  of  twelve 
months,  the  king  was  arrogating  to  himself  the 
greatness  of  Babylon  as  being  his  own  achieve- 
ment of  might  and  for  the  honor  of  his  own  maj- 
esty alone. 

We  should  pause  here  to  locate  this  crisis  in 
Nebuchadnezzar's  career. 

We  see  that  it  is  not  now  a  spirit  of  religious 
pride,  but  one  of  self-exaltation  over  his  political 
and  material  greatness.  The  great  tree  represents 
him  as  having  attained  to  the  widest  earthly  do- 
minion. From  Ezekiel  29:  17-20  we  get  a  most 
important  landmark. 

And  it  came  to  pass  in  the  seven  and  twentieth  year,  in 
the  first  month,  in  the  first  day  of  the  month,  the  word  of 
the  Lord  came  unto  me  saying,  Son  of  man,  Nebuchad- 
nezzar king  of  Babylon  caused  his  army  to  serve  a  great 
service  against  Tyrus:  every  head  was  made  bald,  and 
every  shoulder  was  peeled:  yet  had  he  no  wages,  nor  his 
army,  for  Tyrus,  for  the  service  that  he  had  served  against 
it:  therefore  thus  saith  the  Lord  God;  Behold,  I  will  give 
the  land  of  Egypt  unto  Nebuchadnezzar  king  of  Babylon : 
and  he  shall  take  her  multitude,  and  take  her  spoil,  and 
take  her  prey;  and  it  shall  be  the  wages  for  his  army.  I 
have  given  him  the  land  of  Egypt  for  his  labour  wherewith 
he  served  against  it,  because  they  wrought  for  me,  saith  the 
Lord  God.  In  that  day  will  I  cause  the  horn  of  the  house 
of  Israel  to  bud  forth,  and  I  will  give  thee  the  opening  of 
the  mouth  in  the  midst  of  them;  and  they  shall  know  that 
I  am  the  Lord. 


62  THE  BOOK  OF  DANIEL 

Ezekiel's  reckonings  are  from  the  captivity  of 
Jehoiachin,  598  B.  C,  as  is  made  clear  by  refer- 
ring to  1 :  2  and  40:1.  Therefore  the  date  of  the 
message  above  would  be  572  B.  C.  According  to 
the  passage,  Tyre  had  been  finally  subdued  by  "a 
great  service,"  i.  e.,  a  great  and  protracted  effort. 
History  informs  us  that,  subsequently  to  destroy- 
ing Jerusalem  in  587  B.  C,  Nebuchadnezzar  be- 
sieged Tyre  for  thirteen  years  before  subduing  it. 
In  this  siege  everything  was  utterly  consumed,  so 
that  the  conqueror  obtained  not  a  farthing's  worth 
of  spoil.  "Every  head  was  made  bald,  and  every 
shoulder  was  peeled:  yet  had  he  no  wages,  nor  his 
army,  for  Tyrus,  for  the  service  that  he  had  served 
against  it."  Consequently,  inasmuch  as  "they 
wrought  for  me,  saith  the  Lord,"  the  Lord  God 
here  declares  through  Ezekiel  that  Egypt  should 
now  fall  into  Nebuchadnezzar's  hand  for  a  pos- 
session and  for  booty  to  his  army,  as  wages  for 
the  service  against  Tyre.  It  is  evident  that  this 
conclusion  of  Nebuchadnezzar's  world-wide  con- 
quests corresponds  to  the  undisputed  and  unlim- 
ited dominion  pictured  in  the  dream. 

But,  besides  achieving  such  conquests  abroad, 
Nebuchadnezzar  had  for  many  years  been  making 
of  Babylon  the  wonder  of  the  world  and  of  all  the 
ages  even  to  the  present  day.  It  was  a  vast  city, 
four-square,  56  miles  in  circuit,  with  walls  350 
feet  high  and  87  feet  broad  at  the  top, — wide 
enough  for  six  chariots  to  race  abreast.  The  city 
was  celebrated  for  its  immense  and  magnificent 
temple  and  palaces,  its  noted  "hanging  gardens," 


DREAM  OF  THE  GREAT  TREE  63 

which  of  themselves  were  one  of  the  "Seven  Won- 
ders of  the  World,"  and  for  much  else  of  unpar- 
alleled grandeur.  The  zenith  of  Nebuchadnez- 
zar's ascendancy  was  reached,  then,  about  572 
B.  C,  when  his  unregenerate,  idolatrous  heart  had 
these  abundant  reasons  for  being  lifted  up  and 
hardened  in  pride.  This  conjectural  date  would 
leave  time  for  the  one  year's  probation,  the  seven 
year's  dethronement,  and  a  few  years  of  restora- 
tion before  his  death  in  561  B.  C. 

31  While  the  word  was  in  the  king's  mouth,  there  fell  a 
voice  from  heaven,  saying,  O  king  Nebuchadnezzar,  to  thee 
it  is  spoken;  The  kingdom  is  departed  from  thee.  32  And 
they  shall  drive  thee  from  men,  and  thy  dwelling  shall  be 
with  the  beasts  of  the  field:  they  shall  make  thee  to  eat 
grass  as  oxen,  and  seven  times  shall  pass  over  thee,  until 
thou  know  that  the  Most  High  ruleth  in  the  kingdom  of 
men,  and  giveth  it  to  whomsoever  he  will.  33  The  same 
hour  was  the  thing  fulfilled  upon  Nebuchadnezzar :  and  he 
was  driven  from  men,  and  did  eat  grass  as  oxen,  and  his 
body  was  wet  with  the  dew  of  heaven,  till  his  hairs  were 
grown  like  eagles'  feathers,  and  his  nails  like  birds'  claws. 

Nebuchadnezzar  Debased. — Both  in  respect 
to  inward  consciousness  and  dispositions  and  to 
outward  conditions,  God  cast  Nebuchadnezzar 
from  zenith  to  nadir  in  a  moment.  He  was 
wholly  bestialized.  The  fields  were  his  palace, 
the  oxen  and  the  asses  his  courtiers,  the  ground  his 
divan,  the  alfalfa, — which  flourished  there  and 
which  alone  of  grasses  constitutes  full  nourishment 
for  the  human  body — was  his  delicacy.  Yet  the 
thunderbolt  was  hurled  upon  him  for  a  good  end : 
"Seven  times  shall  pass  over  thee,  until  thou  know 


64  THE  BOOK  OF  DANIEL 

that  the  Most  High  ruleth  in  the  kingdom  of  men, 
and  giveth  it  to  whomsoever  He  will"  (vs.  32). 

34  And  at  the  end  of  the  days  I  Nebuchadnezzar  lifted 
up  mine  eyes  unto  heaven,  and  mine  understanding  re- 
turned unto  me,  and  I  blessed  the  Most  High,  and  I  praised 
and  honored  him  that  liveth  for  ever,  whose  dominion  is  an 
everlasting  dominion,  and  his  kingdom  is  from  generation 
to  generation:  35  And  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  earth 
are  reputed  as  nothing :  and  he  doeth  according  to  his  will 
in  the  army  of  heaven,  and  among  the  inhabitants  of  the 
earth:  and  none  can  stay  his  hand,  or  say  unto  him,  What 
doest  thou?  36  At  the  same  time  my  reason  returned  unto 
me;  and  for  the  glory  of  my  kingdom,  mine  honour  and 
brightness  returned  unto  me;  and  my  counsellors  and  my 
lords  sought  unto  me;  and  I  was  established  in  my  king- 
dom, and  excellent  majesty  was  added  unto  me.  37  Now 
I  Nebuchadnezzar  praise  and  extol  and  honour  the  king  of 
heaven,  all  whose  works  are  truth,  and  his  ways  judgment: 
and  those  that  walk  in  pride  he  is  able  to  abase. 

God's  Purpose  Fulfilled. — The  purpose  of 
this  remarkable  dealing  of  God  with  Nebuchad- 
nezzar was  most  emphatically  declared:  first  by 
the  celestial  visitant  (vs.  17) ;  then  by  Daniel  (vss. 
25-26)  ;  and  finally  by  the  king  himself.  It  was 
that  Nebuchadnezzar  might  know  and  proclaim 
that  God  has  omnipotent  control  in  the  earth ;  that 
''the  heavens  do  rule"  (vs.  26);  that  God  abases 
the  mightiest  for  his  pride  (vs.  37)  and  raises  up 
the  ''basest  of  men"  (vs.  17),  as  He  certainly  did 
in  this  man's  case. 

We  cannot  over-estimate  the  lesson  God  brought 
this  supreme  monarch  of  Gentile  times  to  accept 
and  heartily  to  proclaim.     It  is  the  key  to  all  his- 


DREAM  OF  THE  GREAT  TREE  65 

tory,  as  well  as  to  that  of  the  Times  of  the  Gen- 
tiles. It  is  the  key  to  the  events  which  are  daily 
reported  to  us  from  all  parts  of  the  world  of  to- 
day. This  is  the  political  message  for  earthly 
kings  and  rulers  until  Christ  shall  come:  ''The 
Most  High  ruleth  in  the  kingdom  of  men  and  giv- 
eth  it  to  whomsoever  He  will."  Every  ruler 
should  acknowledge  this  humbly  and  heartily,  as 
did  our  Lincoln,  as  did  Queen  Victoria;  the 
haughtiest  is  compelled  to  acknowledge  it  however 
unwillingly,  as  did  Napoleon. 

It  is  noticeable  in  this  manifesto  to  the  whole 
world,  that  Nebuchadnezzar  issues  no  decree  of 
imperial  compulsion  to  others  as  to  their  attitude 
toward  Jehovah,  but  like  any  new-born  soul  he 
pours  out  his  own  heart  in  praise  and  loyalty. 
Would  that  all  rulers  ''kissed  the  Son"  before  his 
wrath  shall  be  kindled  (Psa.  2 :  10-12)  ! 


BELSHAZZAR'S  FEAST  AND  FALL 

1  Belshazzar  the  king  made  a  great  feast  to  a  thousand 
of  his  lords,  and  drank  wine  before  the  thousand. 

More  Than  Thirty  Years  lie  between  Chap- 
ters 4  and  5.  Nebuchadnezzar  died  in  561  B.  C., 
after  a  long  reign  of  forty-four  years.  His  son, 
Evil-Merodach,  succeeded  him  on  the  throne. 
An  important  reference  to  the  latter  is  found  in  2 
Kings  35:27-30  (exactly  quoted  in  Jer.  52: 
31-35): 

And  it  came  to  pass  in  the  seven  and  thirtieth  year  of 
the  captivity  of  Jehoiachin  king  of  Judah,  in  the  twelfth 
month,  on  the  seven  and  twentieth  day  of  the  month,  that 
Evil-merodach  king  of  Babylon  in  the  year  that  he  began 
to  reign  did  lift  up  the  head  of  Jehoiachin  king  of  Judah 
out  of  prison,  and  he  spake  kindly  to  him,  and  set  his 
throne  above  the  throne  of  the  kings  that  were  with  him 
in  Babylon,  and  changed  his  prison  garments:  and  he  did 
eat  bread  before  him  all  the  days  of  his  life.  And  his 
allowance  was  a  continual  allowance  given  him  of  the  king, 
a  daily  rate  for  every  day,  all  the  days  of  his  life. 

We  may  safely  assume  that  this  act  was  be- 
queathed to  the  new  king  by  his  father  as  a  post- 
mortem kindness  to  the  Jews  on  Nebuchadnezzar's 
part;  and  that  it  was  performed  by  Evil-Mero- 
dach, not  only  out  of  filial  regard  for  his  father, 
but  also  as  an  act  of  respect  toward  the  God  of  the 

66 


BELSHAZZAR'S  FEAST  AND  FALL     67 

Hebrews  who  had  so  wondrously  dealt  with  his 
father. 

Evil-Merodach  reigned,  however,  but  two  years, 
when  he  was  assassinated  in  the  course  of  a  revolt 
led  by  his  brother-in-law,  Neriglissar,  who  suc- 
ceeded to  the  throne  in  559  B.  C.  His  reign  was 
brief.  His  son  Labashi  Marduk  followed  as 
ruler,  but  after  reigning  less  than  a  year  he  also 
was  killed.  Consequently,  in  555  B.  C.  Naboni- 
dus  took  the  throne.  He  was  the  father  of  Bel- 
shazzar  and  was  the  lawful  monarch  in  538  B.  C, 
when  Babylon  was  taken  by  the  Medes  and  Per- 
sians under  Cyrus ;  but  on  account  of  residing  else- 
where and  of  giving  his  efforts  to  other  centers  of 
the  empire,  Nabonidus  placed  the  regency  at 
Babylon  in  the  hands  of  Belshazzar.  Although 
Nabonidus  seems  not  to  have  been  at  all  of  the 
blood  of  Nebuchadnezzar,  yet  it  appears  that  Bel- 
shazzar was  through  his  mother  a  grandson  of 
Nebuchadnezzar. 

2  Belshazzar,  while  he  tasted  the  wine,  commanded  to 
bring  the  golden  and  silver  vessels  which  his  father  Nebu- 
chadnezzar had  taken  out  of  the  temple  which  was  in  Jeru- 
salem; that  the  king  and  his  princes,  his  wives  and  his 
concubines,  might  drink  therein.  3  Then  they  brought 
the  golden  vessels  that  were  taken  out  of  the  temple  of  the 
house  of  God  which  was  at  Jerusalem:  and  the  king  and 
his  princes,  his  wives  and  his  concubines,  drank  in  them. 
4  They  drank  wine,  and  praised  the  gods  of  gold,  and  of 
silver,  of  brass,  of  iron,  of  wood,  and  of  stone.  5  In  the 
same  hour  came  forth  fingers  of  a  man^s  hand,  and  wrote 
over  against  the  candlestick  upon  the  plaster  of  the  wall  of 
the  king's  palace:  and  the  king  saw  the  part  of  the  hand 


68  THE  BOOK  OF  DANIEL 

that  wrote.  6  Then  the  king's  countenance  was  changed, 
and  his  thoughts  troubled  him,  so  that  the  joints  of  his 
loins  were  loosed,  and  his  knees  smote  one  against  another. 
7  The  king  cried  aloud  to  bring  in  the  astrologers,  the 
Chaldeans,  and  the  soothsayers.  And  the  king  spake,  and 
said  to  the  wise  men  of  Babylon,  Whosoever  shall  read  this 
writing,  and  shew  me  the  interpretation  thereof,  shall  be 
clothed  in  scarlet,  and  have  a  chain  of  gold  about  his  neck, 
and  shall  be  the  third  ruler  in  the  kingdom.  8  Then  came 
in  all  the  king's  wise  men:  but  they  could  not  read  the 
writing,  nor  make  known  to  the  king  the  interpretation 
thereof.  9  Then  was  king  Belshazzar  greatly  troubled, 
and  his  countenance  was  changed  in  him,  and  his  lords 
were  astonished. 

The  Mysterious  Handwriting. — Belshaz- 
zar provoked  this  startling  and  ominous  interven- 
tion of  God  by  his  employing  in  most  licentious 
orgies,  to  the  praise  of  his  idols,  the  sacred  vessels 
which  many  years  before  had  been  brought  from 
the  house  of  God  in  Jerusalem.  To  prostitute  to 
such  use  vessels,  which  the  Hebrews  themselves 
dared  not  put  to  any  use  but  that  of  holy  sym- 
bolical service  in  the  temple  of  Jehovah,  was  an 
act  on  Belshazzar's  part  of  most  flagrant  sacrilege. 

10  Now  the  queen,  by  reason  of  the  words  of  the  king 
and  his  lords,  came  into  the  banquet  house :  and  the  queen 
spake  and  said,  O  king,  live  for  ever:  let  not  thy  thoughts 
trouble  thee,  nor  let  thy  countenance  be  changed :  1 1  There 
is  a  man  in  thy  kingdom,  in  whom  is  the  spirit  of  the  holy 
gods;  and  in  the  days  of  thy  father  light  and  understanding 
and  wisdom,  like  the  wisdom  of  the  gods,  was  found  in 
him;  whom  the  King  Nebuchadnezzar  thy  father,  the  king, 
I  say,  thy  father,  made  master  of  the  magicians,  astrologers, 
Chaldeans,  and  soothsayers:  12  Forasmuch  as  an  excel- 
lent spirit,  and  knowledge  and  understanding,  interpreting 


BELSHAZZAR'S  FEAST  AND  FALL     69 

of  dreams,  and  shewing  of  hard  sentences,  and  dissolving 
of  doubts,  were  found  in  the  same  Daniel,  whom  the  king 
named  Belteshazzar :  now  let  Daniel  be  called,  and  he  will 
shew  the  interpretation.  13  Then  was  Daniel  brought  in 
before  the  king.  And  the  king  spake  and  said  unto  Dan- 
iel, Art  thou  that  Daniel,  which  art  of  the  children  of  the 
captivity  of  Judah,  whom  the  king  my  father  brought  out 
of  Jewry?  14  I  have  heard  of  thee,  that  the  spirit  of  the 
gods  is  in  thee,  and  that  light  and  understanding  and  excel- 
lent wisdom  is  found  in  thee.  15  And  now  the  wise  men, 
the  astrologers,  have  been  brought  in  before  me,  that  they 
should  read  this  writing,  and  make  known  unto  me  the  in- 
terpretation thereof :  but  they  could  not  shew  the  interpre- 
tation of  the  thing:  16  And  I  have  heard  of  thee,  that 
thou  canst  make  interpretations,  and  dissolve  doubts :  now 
if  thou  canst  read  the  writing,  and  make  known  to  me  the 
interpretation  thereof,  thou  shalt  be  clothed  with  scarlet, 
and  have  a  chain  of  gold  about  thy  neck,  and  shalt  be  the 
third  ruler  in  the  kingdom. 

An  Interpreter  Found. — According  to  our 
conjectural  date  for  Daniel's  birth,  he  would  at 
this  time  have  been  an  old  man  of  87  years.  It  is 
not  strange  that  he  should  not  have  been  in  Bel- 
shazzar's  mind  for  this  occasion,  or  even  that  he 
should,  as  here  appears,  have  been  almost  un- 
known to  him.  For  Belshazzar  was  not  the  legal 
king;  he  had  not  been  long  in  charge  at  Babylon; 
and  he  evidently  was  a  man  of  debauchery  rather 
than  of  statecraft — a  man  who  would  be  naturally 
oblivious  to  the  existence  of  such  a  character  as 
Daniel. 

But  it  was  quite  different  with  the  queen,  who 
is  probably  to  be  understood  to  be,  not  Belshaz- 
zar's  wife,  but  his  mother,  Nabonidus'   queen. 


70  THE  BOOK  OF  DANIEL 

She,  as  probably  a  daughter  of  Nebuchadnezzar, 
not  only  had  long  known  Daniel  well  but  was, 
most  likely,  in  close  and  sympathetic  touch  with 
him  at  this  time.  She  would  gladly  bring  him  at 
this  fateful  time  to  Belshazzar's  attention,  with 
the  most  confident  assurance  that  he  could  de- 
cipher and  interpret  the  writing  on  the  palace  wall. 
Consequently,  Daniel  was  at  once  admitted  to 
the  banquet  hall  before  the  king,  who  was  ready  to 
welcome  him  in  confidence  of  getting  the  secret 
revealed.  For  such  service  he  offered  Daniel  as 
reward  the  highest  gift  within  his  power,  namely, 
the  third  place  in  the  kingdom,  in  which  he  him- 
self as  vice-regent  and  as  heir  apparent  occupied 
the  second  place. 

17  Then  Daniel  answered  and  said  before  the  king, 
Let  thy  gifts  be  to  thyself,  and  give  thy  rewards  to  another; 
yet  I  will  read  the  writing  unto  the  king,  and  make  known 
unto  him  the  interpretation.  18  O  thou  king,  the  most 
high  God  gave  Nebuchadnezzar  thy  father  a  kingdom,  and 
majesty,  and  glory,  and  honour:  19  And  for  the  majesty 
that  he  gave  him,  all  people,  nations,  and  languages,  trem- 
bled and  feared  before  him:  whom  he  would  he  slew;  and 
whom  he  would  he  kept  alive;  and  whom  he  would  he  set 
up;  and  whom  he  would  he  put  down.  20  But  when  his 
heart  was  lifted  up,  and  his  mind  hardened  in  pride,  he  was 
deposed  from  his  kingly  throne,  and  they  took  his  glory 
from  him:  21  And  he  was  driven  from  the  sons  of  men; 
and  his  heart  was  made  like  the  beasts,  and  his  dwelling 
was  with  the  wild  asses:  they  fed  him  with  grass  like  oxen, 
and  his  body  was  wet  with  the  dew  of  heaven;  till  he  knew 
that  the  most  high  God  ruled  in  the  kingdom  of  men,  and 
that  he  appointeth  over  it  whomsoever  he  will.  22  And 
thou  his  son,  O  Belshazzar,  hast  not  humbled  thine  heart, 


BELSHAZZAR'S  FEAST  AND  FALL     71 

though  thou  knewest  all  this;  23  But  hast  lifted  up  thyself 
against  the  Lord  of  heaven ;  and  they  have  brought  the  ves- 
sels of  his  house  before  thee,  and  thou  and  thy  lords,  thy 
wives  and  thy  concubines,  have  drunk  wine  in  them;  and 
thou  hast  praised  the  gods  of  silver,  and  gold,  of  brass, 
iron,  wood,  and  stone,  which  see  not,  nor  hear,  nor  know: 
and  the  God  in  whose  hand  thy  breath  is,  and  whose  are 
all  thy  ways,  hast  thou  not  glorified:  24  Then  was  the 
part  of  the  hand  sent  from  him ;  and  this  writing  was  writ- 
ten. 

Belshazzar's  Arraignment. — Again  we 
note,  that  only  to  those  who  are  in  communion 
with  God  belongs  the  gift  of  finding  from  the 
Most  High  His  hidden  purposes  and  the  interpre- 
tation of  the  portentous  signs  which  He  holds  out 
to  earthly  view.  We  are  not  surprised  that,  ex- 
cepting Daniel,  the  whole  Empire  lacked  a  man  to 
reveal  the  import  of  the  writing.  Neither  are  we 
surprised  that  God  should  still  be  continuing  the 
life  of  His  faithful  servant  for  this  most  awful 
office,  nor  that  Daniel  waived  the  king's  flattering 
offer  of  reward  as  being  less  than  a  puff-ball  to 
him  as  the  servant  of  God. 

In  Daniel's  review  of  God's  decisive  dealing 
with  Nebuchadnezzar, — in  humbling  him  to  know 
and  to  proclaim  that  the  heavens  rule  in  earthly 
affairs,  and  that  they  determine  each  man's  posi- 
tion— he  cites  this  striking  illustration  as  a  suf- 
ficient and  lasting  revelation  and  lesson  on  this 
score  to  all  kings  until  Jesus  Christ  returns.  We 
cannot  too  strongly  characterize  the  book  of  Dan- 
iel as  being  in  this  respect  the  divine  message  for 
all  rulers,  which  they  should  keep  continually  be- 


72  THE  BOOK  OF  DANIEL 

fore  them,  or  which  should  be  ever  kept  before 
them  by  the  Lord's  witnesses.  Otherwise  rulers 
will  go  to  their  judgment  unforewarned. 

In  arraigning  Belshazzar  (vss.  22-24),  Daniel 
charges  him  with  the  most  flagrant  defiance  of 
clear  light,  because  of  his  having  been  well  aware 
of  his  grand-father's  experience  and  testimony. 
It  is  not  at  all  unlikely  that  Belshazzar  was  al- 
ready born  and  at  an  age  of  intelligence  when 
Nebuchadnezzar  passed  through  that  decisive  ex- 
perience. At  any  rate,  from  the  lips  of  his  mother 
he  had  heard  the  story  repeatedly,  and  most  likely 
he  had  had  the  lesson  brought  home  to  him  ur- 
gently as  the  heir  apparent  to  the  throne  of  Baby- 
lon. But,  just  as  the  faithful  prophet  accuses 
him,  he  had  cast  off  the  whole  matter;  he  had  re- 
fused to  humble  himself  to  God  as  he  well  knew 
that  he  should;  yea,  he  had,  by  his  scandalous 
profanation  of  the  holy  vessels  of  God's  temple, 
intentionally  defied,  mocked  and  put  to  open 
shame  the  name  of  the  Almighty,  in  whose  hand 
was  his  very  breath. 

Such  a  prospective  successor  to  the  throne  gave 
no  hope  for  the  returning  of  the  exiles  and  of 
the  sacred  vessels  to  Jerusalem  when,  two  years 
later,  the  time  appointed  by  God  for  their  release 
should  arrive.  Daniel  plainly  assures  the  king 
that  on  this  account  ''was  the  part  of  the  hand 
sent  from"  God. 

25  And  this  is  the  writing  that  was  written,  MENE, 
MENE,  TEKEL,  UPHARSIN.  26  This  is  the  interpre- 
tation of  the  thing:  MENE;  God  hath  numbered  thy  king- 


BELSHAZZAR'S  FEAST  AND  FALL     73 

dom,  and  finished  it.  27  TEKEL:  Thou  art  weighed 
in  the  balances,  and  found  wanting.  28  PERES;  Thy 
kingdom  is  divided,  and  given  to  the  Medes  and  Persians. 
29  Then  commanded  Belshazzar,  and  they  clothed  Daniel 
with  scarlet,  and  put  a  chain  of  gold  about  his  neck,  and 
made  a  proclamation  concerning  him,  that  he  should  be 
the  third  ruler  in  the  kingdom.  30  In  that  night  was 
Belshazzar  the  king  of  the  Chaldeans  slain.  31  And  Da- 
rius the  Median  took  the  kingdom,  being  about  three-score 
and  two  years  old. 

The  Fateful  Decree. — These  pregnant 
words  (for  the  interpretation  only  is  in  sentences) 
read:  numbered;  weighed;  divided;  while 
the  word  peres  alludes  to  the  similar  word  Persia. 
The  interpretation  presents  the  full  import  of  the 
decree  in  its  threefold  compass :  God  hath  num- 
bered the  years  of  the  Babylonian  Empire  and  ter- 
minated it;  thou  art  weighed  in  the  balances  of 
divine  authority  and  found  wanting  in  obedience 
and  service  to  God;  Thy  kingdom  is  cut  off  and 
divided  between  the  Medes  and  the  Persians. 

The  thoughtful  reader  is  supposed  to  be  well 
acquainted  with  the  notable  and  extended  prophe- 
cies of  Isaiah  (Chs.  13,  14  and  21 :  1-10)  and  of 
Jeremiah  (Chs.  50,  51)  which  had  before  been 
given.  They  show  how  momentous  was  the  event 
of  Babylon's  overthrow  as  a  matter  of  awful  di- 
vine sovereignty,  of  profound  human  effect  among 
the  nations  of  the  world,  and  of  striking  signifi- 
cance in  relation  to  the  Jews. 

Isaiah  says:  ''Howl  ye:  for  the  day  of  the 
Lord  is  at  hand:  it  shall  come  as  a  destruction 
from  the  Almighty.  .  .  .  Behold  I  will  stir  up  the 


74  THE  BOOK  OF  DANIEL 

Medes  against  them,  which  shall  not  regard  silver 
[as  a  condition  of  retiring]  and  as  for  gold,  they 
shall  not  delight  in  it.  .  .  .  And  Babylon,  the 
glory  of  kingdoms,  the  beauty  of  the  Chaldees'  ex- 
cellency, shall  be  as  when  God  overthrew  Sodom 
and  Gomorrah"  (Is.  13:  6,  17,  19).  'Tor  the 
Lord  will  have  mercy  upon  Jacob,  and  will  yet 
choose  Israel,  and  set  them  in  their  own  land" 
(14:  1).  Again  cries  the  Spirit  through  Isaiah: 
''Go  up,  O  Elam  [Persia] :  besiege,  O  Media" 
(21 :  2).  And,  in  the  same  chapter,  a  most  vivid 
picture  is  given  in  few  sentences  of  that  awful 
night,  first  of  revelry,  then  of  sudden  destruction : 
"My  heart  panted,  fearfulness  affrighted  me:  the 
night  of  my  pleasures  hath  He  turned  into  fear 
unto  me.  Prepare  the  table,  watch  in  the  watch- 
tower,  eat,  drink:  arise,  ye  princes,  and  anoint  the 
shield"  (vss.  4,  5).  History  agrees  with  the 
prophecies  in  recording  that  the  city  of  Babylon 
was  taken  at  night,  when  a  great  revelry  was  going 
on,  without  opportunity  for  a  single  blow  of  resist- 
ance. Cyrus,  the  captain  of  the  combined  forces 
of  the  Medes  and  Persians,  diverted  the  water  of 
the  Euphrates,  which  flowed  through  the  city,  to 
another  channel;  and,  guided  by  two  deserters,  he 
marched  into  the  city  through  the  dry  river-bed, 
gaining  access  into  the  city  proper  through  the 
great  brazen  gates  along  the  river  channel,  which 
were  found  carelessly  left  open  and  unguarded. 
The  sudden,  paralyzing  announcement  of  the 
city's  capture  was  issued  by  the  prophet  Isaiah 
nearly  two  centuries  in  advance:     "And,  behold, 


BELSHAZZAR'S  FEAST  AND  FALL     75 

here  cometh  a  chariot  of  men,  with  a  couple  of 
horsemen.  And  he  answered  and  said,  Babylon 
is  fallen,  is  fallen"  (21:  9). 

Still  more  extended  is  the  later  prophetic  de- 
scription of  Babylon's  fall  by  Jeremiah.  The  two 
long  chapters,  50  and  51,  which  are  wholly  given 
to  it,  constitute  one  of  the  most  graphic  and  im- 
pressive passages  of  Scripture. 

"Declare  ye  among  the  nations,  and  publish,  and  set  up 
a  standard;  publish,  and  conceal  not:  say,  Babylon  is 
taken,  Bel  is  confounded,  Merodach  is  broken  in  pieces. 
.  .  .  Behold,  I  am  against  thee,  O  thou  most  proud,  saith 
the  Lord  God  of  hosts:  for  thy  day  is  come,  the  time  that 
I  will  visit  thee.  .  .  .  Thus  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts;  The 
children  of  Israel  and  the  children  of  Judah  were  op- 
pressed together :  and  all  that  took  them  captives  held  them 
fast;  they  refused  to  let  them  go.  Their  Redeemer  is 
strong :  the  Lord  of  hosts  is  his  name :  he  shall  thoroughly 
plead  their  cause,  that  he  may  give  rest  to  the  land,  and 
disquiet  the  inhabitants  of  Babylon."  50:  2,  31,  33,  34. 
"Make  bright  the  arrows:  gather  the  shields:  the  Lord 
hath  raised  up  the  spirit  of  the  kings  of  the  Medes:  for 
his  device  is  against  Babylon,  to  destroy  it:  because  it  is 
the  vengeance  of  the  Lord,  the  vengeance  of  his  temple. 
.  .  .  The  mighty  men  of  Babylon  hath  forborn  to  fight, 
they  have  remained  in  their  holds :  their  might  hath  failed : 
they  became  as  women:  they  have  burned  her  dwelling 
places:  her  bars  are  broken.  One  post  shall  run  to  meet 
another;  and  one  messenger  to  meet  another,  to  show  the 
king  of  Babylon  that  his  city  is  taken  at  one  end.  .  .  . 
And  Babylon  shall  become  heaps,  a  dwelling  place  for 
dragons,  an  astonishment,  and  an  hissing,  without  an  in- 
habitant. .  .  .  My  people,  go  ye  out  of  the  midst  of  her, 
and  deliver  ye  every  man  his  soul  from  the  fierce  anger  of 
the  Lord."     51:  11.  30,  31,  37,  45. 

Belshazzar  kept  his  word  in  rewarding  Daniel 


76  THE  BOOK  OF  DANIEL 

on  the  spot  for  the  interpretation  which  the  king 
evidently  considered  true.  And  the  same  night 
the  blow  befell  him ;  for  God  was  through  with  the 
head  of  gold,  the  Babylonian  Empire,  and  with 
perfect  ease  and  resistless  authority  He  shifted  the 
world-rule  to  the  shoulders  and  arms  of  silver — to 
Medo-Persia  under  Darius  the  Median  as  the  first 
ruler. 

The  political  lesson  of  this  chapter  emphasizes 
that  the  Son  of  God  is  the  supreme  Sovereign  of 
the  earth.  Not  only  are  private  individuals  ac- 
countable to  Christ  for  their  conduct  according  to 
light  and  opportunity,  but  so  also  are  great  mon- 
archs,  yea,  even  dynasties  and  empires.  All  hu- 
man authority  and  rule  is  ordained  and  stands  in 
direct  responsibility  to  Him.  Abraham  Lincoln, 
in  proclaiming  in  1863  "a  day  of  national  hu- 
miliation, fasting  and  prayer,"  embraced  in  his 
preamble  the  words,  ''devoutly  recognizing  the 
supreme  authority  and  just  government  of  Al- 
mighty God  in  all  the  affairs  of  men  and  nations.'' 
With  the  Senate,  he  saw  in  that  hour  of  national 
travail  a  call  to  prayer,  not  for  "success  to  our 
arms," — righteous  indeed  as  seemed  to  be  the 
cause — but  for  ''clemency  and  forgiveness";  a  call 
to  "national  humiliation"  "before  the  offended 
Power"  under  a  felt  "necessity  of  redeeming  and 
preserving  grace."  The  devout  Bible  student 
must  feel  the  lack  of  this  disposition  in  warring 
Christendom.  And  whoever  remembers  that  sol- 
emn day  has  doubtless  long  prayed  that  we  might 
hear  from  Washington  again  the  voice  of  1863. 


VI 
THE  LIONS'  DEN 

1  It  pleased  Darius  to  set  over  the  kingdom  a  hundred 
and  twenty  princes,  which  should  be  over  the  whole  king- 
dom; 2  And  over  these  three  presidents;  of  whom  Daniel 
was  first:  that  the  princes  might  give  account  to  them,  and 
the  king  should  have  no  damage.  3  Then  this  Daniel 
was  preferred  above  the  presidents  and  princes,  because 
an  excellent  spirit  was  in  him:  and  the  king  thought  to 
set  him  over  the  whole  realm. 

Daniel's  Primacy. — As  Darius  took  the 
throne  of  the  new  Empire  in  538  B.  C.  and  reigned 
only  two  years,  the  date  of  this  chapter  must  be 
about  537  B.  C.  Daniel  must  have  been  about  88 
years  old.  It  is  remarkable  that  he  was  still  so 
hale  as  to  be  equal  to  such  official  responsibility  as 
Darius  placed  upon  him  as  the  head  of  the  board 
of  three  presidents  of  the  realm  of  one  hundred 
and  twenty  principalities.  Darius  even  planned 
to  make  Daniel  his  sole  executive. 

4  Then  the  presidents  and  princes  sought  to  find  occa- 
sion against  Daniel  concerning  the  kingdom;  but  they 
could  find  none  occasion  nor  fault;  forasmuch  as  he  was 
faithful,  neither  was  there  any  error  or  fault  found  in  him. 
5  Then  said  these  men,  We  shall  not  find  any  occasion 
against  this  Daniel,  except  we  find  it  against  him  concern- 
ing the  law  of  his  God.  6  Then  these  presidents  and 
princes  assembled  together  to  the  king,  and  said  thus  unto 
him,  King  Darius,  live  forever.     7  All  the  presidents  of 

17 


78  THE  BOOK  OF  DANIEL 

the  kingdom,  the  governors,  and  the  princes,  the  counsel- 
lors, and  the  captains,  have  consulted  together  to  establish 
a  royal  statute,  and  to  make  a  firm  decree,  that  whosoever 
shall  ask  a  petition  of  any  God  or  man  for  thirty  days, 
save  of  thee,  O  king,  he  shall,  be  cast  into  the  den  of  lions. 
8  Now,  O  king,  establish  the  decree,  and  sign  the  writing, 
that  it  be  not  changed,  according  to  the  law  of  the  Medes 
and  Persians,  which  altereth  not.  9  Wherefore  king  Da- 
rius signed  the  writing  and  the  decree. 

The  Malign  Plot  Against  Daniel. — What 
a  familiar  spectacle,  as  if  it  were  a  palace  tale  of 
today, — that  envious,  uncrupulous  conspiracy  of 
political  rivals!  For  one  so  long  at  the  front 
politically,  and  the  favorite  at  the  hated  Babylo- 
nian court,  to  be  still  pre-eminent  in  the  victor's 
palace;  and,  besides,  for  that  one — now  in  his 
"dotage"  and  so  ''superannuated,"  as  his  rivals  no 
doubt  argued — to  be  displacing  ''young  blood," 
was  intolerable  to  these  rivals  of  Machiavellian 
principles  and  ambitions.  They  were,  therefore, 
determined  to  displace  him  by  any  means  fair  or 
foul. 

What  a  testimony  it  was  to  the  integrity  and 
unimpaired  ability  of  Daniel,  that  they  could  find 
none  occasion  or  fault  against  him  on  official 
grounds;  for  he  was  faithful  in  principle  and 
flawless  in  administration. 

There  lies  in  these  few  lines  a  whole  volume  of 
important  suggestion  touching  the  relation  of 
God's  servants  to  earthly  affairs  of  State.  Was 
Daniel  out  of  place  as  a  Christian?  Or  was  he 
merely  an  exception,  proving  the  rule  that  states- 
manship is  no  calling  for  the  Christian?     Again, 


I 


THE  LIONS'  DEN  79 

what  procured  Daniel  this  high  position?  Was 
it  mere  personal  favoritism?  Or  was  it  not  the 
highest  sort  of  civil  service  ability,  along  with  the 
trustworthiness  which  monarchs  seek  almost  in 
vain  for  among  worldly  politicians  and  courtiers  ? 
Well  then,  it  is  necessary  for  a  Christian  to  qual- 
ify himself  for  State  service  if  he  is  to  be  entitled 
and  called  to  positions  of  State.  It  is  his  qualifi- 
cation, as  much  as  any  other  one's,  that  commands 
the  position;  and  even  God  would  not,  if  He 
could,  keep  him  there  as  an  incompetent.  Now, 
if  God  does  not  desire  servants  like  Daniel  in  high 
positions  of  State,  will  any  one  venture  to  say  that 
He  does  desire  there  such  men  as  those  who  tried 
to  procure  Daniel's  removal?  Why  did  God  res- 
cue and  restore  Daniel  and  expel  from  office  and 
from  life  his  malicious  conspirators,  if  He  does 
not  desire  Daniels  in  offices  of  State  and  such  as 
Daniel's  enemies  out  of  such  spheres?  It  looks 
decidedly  more  likely  that  Satan  seeks  to  command 
such  positions  for  his  faithful  minions  and  to  close 
such  positions  to  God's  servants.  We  need  not 
remain  in  doubt  as  to  God's  will  and  way  in  this 
matter,  or  as  to  how  to  pray  and  labor  in  co-opera- 
tion with  Him. 

10  Now  when  Daniel  knew  that  the  writing  was  signed, 
he  went  into  his  house;  and,  his  windows  being  open  in  his 
chamber  toward  Jerusalem,  he  kneeled  upon  his  knees 
three  times  a  day,  and  prayed,  and  gave  thanks  before  his 
God,  as  he  did  aforetime.  11  Then  these  men  assembled, 
and  found  Daniel  praying  and  making  supplication  before 
his  God.     12  Then  they  came  near,  and  spake  before  the 


8o  THE  BOOK  OF  DANIEL 

king  concerning  the  king's  decree;  Hast  thou  not  signed  a 
decree,  that  every  one  that  shall  ask  a  petition  of  any 
God  or  man  within  thirty  days,  save  of  thee,  O  king, 
shall  be  cast  into  the  den  of  lions?  The  king  an- 
swered and  said.  The  thing  is  true,  according  to  the  law 
of  the  Medes  and  Persians,  which  altereth  not.  13  Then 
answered  they  and  said  before  the  king,  That  Daniel, 
which  is  of  the  children  of  the  captivity  of  Judah,  regard- 
eth  not  thee,  O  king,  nor  the  decree  that  thou  hast  signed, 
but  maketh  his  petition  three  times  a  day.  14  Then  the 
king,  when  he  had  heard  these  words,  was  sore  displeased 
with  himself,  and  set  his  heart  on  Daniel  to  deliver  him: 
and  he  labored  till  the  going  down  of  the  sun  to  deliver 
him.  15  Then  these  men  assembled  unto  the  king,  and 
said  unto  the  king,  Know,  O  king,  that  the  law  of  the 
Medes  and  Persians  is,  That  no  decree  or  statute  which 
the  king  establisheth  may  be  changed.  16  Then  the  king 
commanded,  and  they  brought  Daniel,  and  cast  him  into 
the  den  of  lions.  Now  the  king  spake  and  said  unto  Dan- 
iel, Thy  God  whom  thou  servest  continually,  he  will  deliver 
thee.  17  And  a  stone  was  brought,  and  laid  upon  the 
mouth  of  the  den;  and  the  king  sealed  it  with  his  own 
signet,  and  with  the  signet  of  his  lords;  that  the  purpose 
might  not  be  changed  concerning  Daniel. 

Walking  With  God  into  the  Den  of 
Lions. — What  a  testimony  to  Daniel's  reputation 
for  unconcealed,  unfaltering  devotion  to  God,  that 
these  conspirators  were  sure  that  they  now  had 
him  in  their  net!  They  did  not  expect  Daniel 
to  flinch,  to  alter  his  habits  of  prayer,  or  even  to 
close  his  windows  toward  Jerusalem.  And  what 
is  faith,  if  it  is  not  taking  God  at  His  word  just 
where  the  need  of  His  promise  is  greatest?  Dan- 
iel was  trusting  God  exactly  to  fulfil  2  Chron. 
6:38,39: 


THE  LIONS'  DEN  81 

If  they  return  to  thee  with  all  their  heart  and  with  all 
their  soul  in  the  land  of  their  captivity,  whither  they  have 
carried  them  captives,  and  pray  toward  their  land,  which 
thou  gavest  unto  their  fathers,  and  toward  the  city  which 
thou  hast  chosen,  and  toward  the  house  which  I  have  built 
for  thy  name:  then  hear  thou  from  the  heavens,  even 
from  thy  dwell ingplace,  their  prayer  and  their  supplica- 
tions, and  maintain  their  cause. 

If  ever  Daniel's  window  needed  to  be  kept  open 
toward  Jerusalem,  and  if  ever  Daniel  needed  to  be 
upon  his  knees  in  real  supplication  and  thanks- 
giving without  regard  to  any  one's  eye  but  God's, 
it  was  when  he  needed  God  to  fulfil  this  promise 
to  maintain  his  cause  and  his  right.  It  was  from 
there  in  that  chamber,  and  in  just  that  way,  that 
in  heaven  the  mouths  of  those  lions  yonder  were 
first  to  be  stopped.  Even  poor  Darius,  cut  to  the 
heart  that  he  had  fallen  into  such  a  trap,  seemed 
to  catch  faith  from  Daniel's  course.  He  reasoned 
that  no  God  could  fail  such  a  devoted,  intrepid, 
undoubting  servant. 

18  Then  the  king  went  to  his  palace,  and  spent  the 
night  fasting:  neither  were  instruments  of  music  brought 
before  him:  and  his  sleep  went  from  him.  19  Then  the 
king  arose  very  early  in  the  morning,  and  went  in  haste 
unto  the  den  of  lions.  20  And  when  he  came  to  the  den, 
he  cried  with  a  lamentable  voice  unto  Daniel :  and  the  king 
spake  and  said  to  Daniel,  O  Daniel,  servant  of  the  living 
God,  is  thy  God,  whom  thou  servest  continually,  able  to 
deliver  thee  from  the  lions?  21  Then  said  Daniel  unto 
the  king,  O  king,  live  for  ever.  22  My  God  hath  sent  his 
angel,  and  hath  shut  the  lions'  mouths,  that  they  have  not 
hurt  me :  forasmuch  as  before  him  innocency  was  found  in 
me :  and  also  before  thee,  O  king,  have  I  done  no  hurt.     23 


82  THE  BOOK  OF  DANIEL 

Then  was  the  king  exceeding  glad  for  him,  and  commanded 
that  they  should  take  Daniel  up  out  of  the  den.  So  Daniel 
was  taken  up  out  of  the  den,  and  no  manner  of  hurt  was 
found  upon  him,  because  he  believed  in  his  God. 

The  Miserable  King  Made  Happy. — The 
central  place  at  this  crucial  point  of  the  narrative 
is  advisedly  given  by  our  paragraph-heading  to 
the  king.  Which  of  the  two  men  was  made  happy 
by  the  outcome  ?  And  upon  which  did  God  have 
His  eye  chiefly  in  ordering  this  outcome?  Cer- 
tainly Daniel  was  not  happier  when  he  came  out 
of  the  den  of  lions  than  when  he  went  in.  He  was 
calm  all  the  way.  He  would  have  been  equally 
happy  had  his  body  been  devoured  for  his  faith. 
To  depart  and  be  with  the  Son  of  God  would  have 
been  for  him  far  better.  But  it  was  needful  for 
Darius  that  Daniel  be  spared.  Why  did  God 
save  Daniel  from  the  lions  and  not  save  the  Chris- 
tians whom  wicked  Roman  emperors  threw  to  the 
lions?  God  had  mercy  upon  the  well-meaning, 
piously  disposed  Darius  and  was  pleased  to  turn 
his  distress  into  joy;  and  God  had  a  good  use  to 
make  of  Darius  in  consequence  of  His  kindness 
to  him.  But  it  was  not  so  at  all  in  the  case  of 
those  cruel,  impious  and  useless  Roman  emperors. 

Two  expressions  in  this  paragraph  stand  out  in 
letters  of  light.  First,  ''whom  thou  servest  con- 
tinually" (vs.  20) ;  i.  e.,  uninterruptedly,  no  mat- 
ter what  opposes.  Darius  had  borne  the  same 
witness  the  night  before  when  he  unwillingly  com- 
mitted Daniel  to  the  lions'  den  (vs.  16).  The 
other  golden  testimony  is  in  the  words,  ^'because 


THE  LIONS'  DEN  83 

he  believed  in  his  God"  (vs.  23).  There  is  no 
evidence  that  Daniel  had  any  more  assurance  of 
escaping  the  lions  alive  than  his  three  friends  had 
of  escaping  the  fiery  furnace  alive.  But  his  be- 
lieving in  his  God  was  the  more  emphatically 
proved  by  following  God  right  into  the  den  never- 
theless. 

24  And  the  king  commanded,  and  they  brought  those 
men  which  had  accused  Daniel,  and  they  cast  them  into 
the  den  of  lions,  them,  their  children,  and  their  wives;  and 
the  lions  had  the  mastery  of  them,  and  brake  all  their 
bones  in  pieces  or  ever  they  came  at  the  bottom  of  the  den. 
25  Then  king  Darius  wrote  unto  all  people,  nations,  and 
languages,  that  dwell  in  all  the  earth ;  Peace  be  multiplied 
unto  you.  26  I  make  a  decree,  That  in  every  dominion 
of  my  kingdom  men  tremble  and  fear  before  the  God  of 
Daniel:  for  he  is  the  living  God,  and  steadfast  for  ever, 
and  his  kingdom  that  which  shall  not  be  destroyed,  and 
his  dominion  shall  be  even  unto  the  end.  27  He  deliver- 
eth  and  rescueth,  and  he  worketh  signs  and  wonders  in 
heaven  and  in  earth,  who  hath  delivered  Daniel  from  the 
power  of  the  lions.  28  So  this  Daniel  prospered  in  the 
reign  of  Darius,  and  in  the  reign  of  Cyrus  the  Persian. 

The  Standing  Lesson  tor  Gentile  Times. 
— There  is  logical  connection  between  this  judg- 
ment upon  Daniel's  accusers  and  this  decree  of 
Darius  to  all  his  subjects.  Above  Darius  the 
autocrat  it  was  this  ''God  of  Daniel,"  this  ''living 
God,"  that  procured  this  end  to  the  men  who 
thought  to  bring  Daniel  to  his  death  by  virtue  of 
his  faith  in  his  God.  Their  judgment  furnished 
a  lurid  back-ground  for  the  edict  of  Darius,  that 
all  his  subjects  should  "tremble  and  fear  before 


84  THE  BOOK  OF  DANIEL 

the  God  of  Daniel."  This  was  more  than  a  de- 
cree of  religious  toleration  for  the  Jews,  which 
was  the  farthest  that  Nebuchadnezzar  went  by 
any  commandment  to  his  realm ;  this  was  compul- 
sion to  pay  trembling  reverence  to  Daniel's  God. 
It  amounted  almost,  if  not  quite,  to  incorporating 
the  worship  of  Jehovah  into  the  religion  of  the 
Empire.  This  was  God's  voice  to  all  Gentile 
powers,  to  be  regarded  as  long  as  His  Israel  re- 
mains scattered  and  subject  among  the  Gentiles. 
This  chapter,  like  the  previous  chapters,  should  be 
constantly  before  all  Gentile  authorities  until 
Jesus  comes  again. 

Darius  enforces  his  decree  by  noble  reasons  and 
testimonies :  that  the  God  of  the  Jews  is  the  living 
God,  eternally  unchangeable,  whose  kingdom  is 
imperishable,  unlike  earthly  empires,  and  whose 
dominion  shall  prevail  on  earth  at  the  end  when 
Israel  shall  be  again  restored.  "He  delivereth 
and  rescueth,  and  He  worketh  signs  and  wonders 
in  heaven  and  in  earth,  who  hath  delivered  Daniel 
from  the  power  of  the  lions."  Yea,  this  deliver- 
ance of  Daniel  was  a  type  of  the  deliverance  which 
God  will  effect  for  the  final  faithful  remnant  of 
Israel,  when  they  shall  have  been  brought  into  the 
lion's  pit  of  the  devouring  Antichrist. 

The  last  verse  concludes  the  record  of  Daniel's 
political  career.  Over  into  his  nineties  he  must 
have  "prospered"  as  the  chief  adviser  and  execu- 
tive at  the  Persian  court,  inducting  the  first  two 
monarchs — the  one  representing  the  Median,  the 
other  the  Persian  section  of  the  dual  monarchy — 


THE  LIONS'  DEN  85 

into  their  careers  as  the  divinely  appointed  sover- 
eigns over  the  Jewish  dispersion. 

We  have  concluded  the  first  half  of  the  book  of 
Daniel, — the  historical  section.  How  deeply  it 
has  impressed  us  with  God's  intention  to  have  this 
Scripture  serve  as  His  text-book  of  Imperial  pol- 
icy for  all  the  Gentile  sovereigns  under  whom  His 
Israel  have  been  scattered! — as  wanderers  from 
their  land;  without  rulers,  without  nationality; 
never  amalgamated  politically  or  converted  reli- 
giously; objects  of  natural  hatred  and  envy,  and 
an  easy  prey  to  every  foe. 

In  closing  this  section  of  the  book,  which  we 
have  found  invaluable  as  the  statesman's  manual, 
w^e  may  appropriately  draw  one  more  lesson — a 
lesson  for  the  statesmen  of  a  Republic.  Shall 
such  a  statesman  "dare  to  be  a  Daniel"?  Or 
shall  such  a  statesman  keep  his  religion  under  his 
coat's  lapel?  In  other  words,  Is  it  an  ideal  prin- 
ciple of  government,  which  so  divorces  State  and 
Church,  that,  in  official  capacity,  the  statesman 
must  be  a  religious  neutral?  In  still  other  words, 
Is  positive  religion  out  of  place  in  civil  position; 
or  is  civil  position  simply  another  place  for  posi- 
tive religion?  The  latter  was  certainly  Daniel's 
view  and  example  in  the  matter.  While  he  di- 
vorced his  religion  from  State  support,  yet  he 
always  supported  the  State  only  as  a  pious  Jew. 
Is,  then,  a  true  follower  of  Jesus  authorized  to 
enter  civil  service,  even  in  a  Republic,  excepting 
to  follow  and  glorify  Jesus  there  at  whatever  cost  ? 


VII 

THE  VISION  OF  THE  FOUR  BEASTS 

The  reader  is  requested  to  turn  to  this  chapter 
in  his  Bible,  and  carefully  to  notice  how  it  is  con- 
structed after  the  following  outline.  This  will 
greatly  help  in  a  simple  treatment  of  an  otherwise 
difficult  chapter. 

INTRODUCTION— Vs.  1. 

Part  1 — The  Vision  and  Its  General  Interpreta- 
tion.— Vss.  2-18. 

1.  The  Vision,  vss.  2-14. 

(a)  Terrestrial  Scene:  Procession  of  four 
Beasts,  vss.  2-8. 

(6)  Celestial  Scene:  Succession  of  the  Son 
of  Man  to  Universal  Rule  on  Earth,  vss.  9-14. 

2.  The  General  Interpretation,  vss.  15-18. 

Introduction,  vss.  15,  16. 

{a)  Interpretation  of  Terrestrial  Scene,  vs. 
17. 

(6)     Interpretation  of  Celestial  Scene,  vs.  18. 
Part  2 — Fuller  Details  of  Last  Stages  of  Vision 

and  Their  Interpretation. — Vss.  19-27. 
L  Inquiry  for  Further  Light,  verses  19-20. 
{a)     On  the  Fourth  Beast,  vs.  19. 
(6)     On  the  Ten  Horns,  vs.  20. 
(c)     On  the  Little  Horn  and  the  Saints,  vss. 
20-22. 

86 


THE  FOUR  BEASTS  87 

2.  Answer  to  these  Inquiries,  vss.  23-27. 

(a)  On  the  Fourth  Beast,  vs.  23. 

(b)  On  the  Ten  Horns,  vs.  24. 

(c)  On  the  Little  Horn  and  the  Saints,  vss. 
24-27. 

CONCLUSION— Vs.  28. 
We  will  follow  this  outline  in  seeking  for  the 
unfolding  of  the  chapter  to  our  understanding. 

INTRODUCTION— Vs.  L 

1  In  the  first  year  of  Belshazzar  king  of  Babylon,  Dan- 
iel had  a  dream  and  visions  of  his  head  upon  his  bed :  then 
he  wrote  the  dream,  and  told  the  sum  of  the  matters. 

Your  Old  Men  Shall  Dream  Dreams. — 
There  is  good  ground  for  assuming  that  it  was  in 
the  third  year  of  his  reign  that  Belshazzar  was 
killed  at  the  capture  of  Babylon.  This  was  in 
538  B.  C;  which  would  make  the  date  of  this 
vision  541  B.  C.  Daniel  would  be  at  the  time 
about  84  years  old.  We  have  already  learned 
that  Belshazzar  was  only  the  acting  king  at  the 
capital.  From  what  we  learned  of  him  in  chap- 
ter 5,  we  can  understand  that,  at  this  point  in  the 
history  of  Babylon,  the  empire  was  being  commit- 
ted to  its  doom  under  the  regency  of  this  reckless, 
dissolute  and  sacrilegious  ruler. 

Daniel  was  probably  being  left  to  insignificance 
and  obscurity,  as  far  as  Belshazzar  was  concerned. 
But  this  would  afford  him  the  better  opportunity 
to  address  himself  to  the  most  important  ministry 
of  his  life,  that  of  being  God's  revelator  of  the 


88  THE  BOOK  OF  DANIEL 

momentous  future  of  Gentile  powers  and  of  the 
Jews.  At  so  great  an  age — still  standing  like  a 
cedar  of  Lebanon;  his  hoary  head  a  crown  of 
glory;  spirit,  mind  and  body  ripe  and  strong  for 
their  mightiest  conflicts  and  victories — God  took 
him  into  this  apocalyptical  ministry  in  which  he 
has  no  peer  excepting  the  aged  Apostle  John. 
And  the  two  are  remarkably  related.  Daniel  re- 
veals the  last  days  with  respect  to  the  coming  of  the 
Jews  into  terrestrial  supremacy  over  the  earth  un- 
der their  Messiah;  John  reveals  the  last  days  with 
respect  to  the  coming  of  the  Church  into  celestial 
supremacy  over  the  earth  with  her  glorified  Head. 
The  vision  of  the  four  beasts  was  the  first  of  four 
revelations  which  were  given  to  Daniel  in  his  last 
years,  and  they  occupy  the  last  half  of  his  book 
(Chs.  7-12). 

No  more  explicit  claim  that  Daniel  lived  at  that 
time,  received  this  revelation,  himself  wrote  every 
word  of  it  and  handed  it  down  just  as  it  is,  could 
be  made  than  the  verse  above  asserts  To  assign 
the  composition  to  other  hands,  of  a  later  time,  is 
utterly  to  invalidate  the  entire  book. 

Part  1 — The  Vision  and  Its  General  Interpreta- 
tion.— Vss.  2-18. 

We  may  first  make  some  observations  which 
apply  not  only  to  the  vision  before  us,  but  also  to 
the  succeeding  ones. 

Because  of  being  presented  to  the  prophet's 
mind  largely  in  symbols,  the  visions  required  in- 
terpretation.    But  all  essential  interpretation  was 


THE  FOUR  BEASTS  89 

given  in  each  instance  to  Daniel,  who  was  always 
very  deeply  exercised  to  know  the  truth  which  the 
symbols  concealed.  This  interpretation  and  un- 
derstanding which  was  given  to  him  is  the  light, 
the  only  light,  the  all-sufficient  light  to  us. 

That  we  have  the  advantage  over  Daniel  of  a 
later  historical  position,  affords  us  no  advantage 
in  point  of  the  revelation  itself,  but  only  in  point 
of  historical  counterpart  to  the  revelation.  For 
the  purpose  of  revelation,  then,  we  must  stand  en- 
tirely at  his  point  of  view;  while  for  the  purpose  of 
marking  accomplished  fulfilment  of  revelation  we 
stand  at  our  present  historical  stage  of  progress. 

Again,  that  we  have  the  advantage  over  Daniel 
of  later  and  completed  revelation  on  the  last  days, 
must  not  lead  us  to  treat  Daniel's  revelations  as 
though  they  were  left  obscure  and  incomplete,  re- 
quiring further  revelations  to  clear  them  up  and 
complete  them.  We  may  read  Daniel's  revela- 
tions, not  only  under  the  light  which  he  had  from 
earlier  and  from  contemporaneous  prophets,  but 
also  with  the  light  which  later  predictions  and  rev- 
elations afford;  but  we  must  always  remember 
in  dealing  with  the  book  of  Daniel,  that  what  was 
revealed  to  him  was  complete  in  itself  and  per- 
fectly interpreted  to  his  understanding.  We  are 
to  treat  his  records,  therefore,  as  complete  and  self- 
explanatory  for  us.  We  must  not  import  into 
Daniel  keys  of  interpretation  and  theories  regard- 
ing Gentile  Times  and  the  last  days,  which  would 
deprive  his  revelations  of  original  authority  and 
of  direct  self-sufficiency.     We  need  to  take  these 


90  THE  BOOK  OF  DANIEL 

records  as  first  sources,  all-sufficient  sources,  self- 
interpreting  sources. 

1.  The  Vision,  vss.  2-14. 

(a)  Terrestrial  Scene:  Procession  of  Four 
Beasts,  vss.  2-8. 

2  Daniel  spake  and  said,  I  saw  in  my  vision  by  night, 
and,  behold,  the  four  winds  of  the  heaven  strove  upon  the 
great  sea.  3  And  four  great  beasts  came  up  from  the  sea, 
diverse  one  from  another.  4  The  first  was  like  a  lion, 
and  had  eagle's  wings:  I  beheld  till  the  wings  thereof 
were  plucked,  and  it  was  lifted  up  from  the  earth,  and 
made  stand  upon  the  feet  as  a  man,  and  a  man's  heart  was 
given  to  it.  5  And  behold  another  beast,  a  second,  like 
unto  a  bear,  and  it  raised  up  itself  on  one  side,  and  it  had 
three  ribs  in  the  mouth  of  it  between  the  teeth  of  it:  and 
they  said  thus  unto  it.  Arise,  devour  much  flesh.  6  After 
this  I  beheld,  and  lo  another,  like  a  leopard,  which  had 
upon  the  back  of  it  four  wings  of  a  fowl;  the  beast  had 
also  four  heads:  and  dominion  was  given  to  it.  7  After 
this  I  saw  in  the  night  visions,  and  behold  a  fourth  beast, 
dreadful  and  terrible,  and  strong  exceedingly;  and  it  had 
great  iron  teeth:  it  devoured  and  brake  in  pieces,  and 
stamped  the  residue  with  the  feet  of  it;  and  it  was  diverse 
from  all  the  beasts  that  were  before  it;  and  it  had  ten  horns. 
8  I  considered  the  horns,  and,  behold,  there  came  up 
among  them  another  little  horn,  before  whom  there  were 
three  of  the  first  horns  plucked  up  by  the  roots:  and, 
behold,  in  this  horn  were  eyes  like  the  eyes  of  a  man,  and 
a  mouth  speaking  great  things. 

(b)  Celestial  Scene:  Succession  of  the  Son  of 
Man  to  Universal  Rule  on  Earth,  vss.  9-14. 

9  I  beheld  till  the  thrones  were  cast  down,  and  the  An- 
cient of  days  did  sit,  whose  garment  was  white  as  snow, 
and  the  hairs  of  his  head  like  the  pure  wool:  his  throne 
was  like  the  fiery  flame,  and  his  wheels  as  burning  fire.  10 
A  fiery  stream  issued  and  came  forth  from  before  him: 


THE  FOUR  BEASTS  91 

thousand  thousands  ministered  unto  him,  and  ten  thousand 
times  ten  thousand  stood  before  him :  the  judgment  was  set 
and  the  books  were  opened.  Ill  beheld  then,  because  of 
the  voice  of  the  great  words  which  the  horn  spake:  I  be- 
held even  till  the  beast  was  slain,  and  his  body  destroyed, 
and  given  to  the  burning  flame.  12  As  concerning  the 
rest  of  the  beasts,  they  had  their  dominion  taken  away: 
yet  their  lives  were  prolonged  for  a  season  and  time.  13 
I  saw  in  the  night  visions,  and,  behold,  one  like  the  Son  of 
man  came  with  the  clouds  of  heaven,  and  came  to  the 
Ancient  of  days,  and  they  brought  him  near  before  him. 
14  And  there  was  given  him  dominion,  and  glory,  and  a 
kingdom,  that  all  people,  nations,  and  languages,  should 
serve  him :  his  dominion  is  an  everlasting  dominion,  which 
shall  not  pass  away,  and  his  kingdom  that  which  shall  not 
be  destroyed. 

That  this  panorama  must  have  been  identical  to 
Daniel's  mind  with  that  of  Nebuchadnezzar's 
dream  of  the  Great  Image  and  the  Stone,  can  be 
assumed  confidently  from  several  considerations. 

1 .  They  were  both  presented  in  symbols  which 
called  for  an  interpretation  of  their  hidden  mean- 
ing. 

2.  Even  without  any  further  interpretation,  this 
latter  vision  in  its  second  part  (vs.  9-14)  very 
clearly  identifies  this  revelation  with  that  of  Neb- 
uchadnezzar's dream,  as  interpreted  by  Daniel,  as 
a  panorama  of  earthly  dominion  existing  until 
abruptly  terminated  by  the  intervention  of  the 
everlasting  kingdom  from  heaven. 

3.  The  succession  of  beasts  is  the  same  in  num- 
ber as  that  of  the  component  metals  of  the  image; 
and  their  succession  evinces  the  same  deteriora- 
tion in  point  of  quality  and  of  unity  which  was  so 


92  THE  BOOK  OF  DANIEL 

emphasized  in  the  describing  of  the  image  from  its 
head  to  its  feet. 

4.  There  is  in  both  cases  the  same  focusing  of 
attention  upon,  and  the  same  expanded  descrip- 
tion of,  the  latest  stages  of  the  progression,  es- 
pecially that  of  the  utter  final  displacement  of  all 
other  dominion  by  the  intervention  of  the  everlast- 
ing heavenly  kingdom. 

We  are  not  surprised,  therefore,  that  so  little  in 
the  way  of  general  interpretation  was  necessary  for 
Daniel,  although  that  little  was  evidently  impera- 
tively needed. 

2.  The  General  Interpretation,  vss.  15-18. 
Introduction,  vss.  15,  16. 

15  1  Daniel  was  grieved  in  my  spirit  in  the  midst  of  my 
body,  and  the  visions  of  my  head  troubled  me.  16  1  came 
near  unto  one  of  them  that  stood  by,  and  asked  him  the 
truth  of  all  this.  So  he  told  me,  and  made  me  to  know  the 
interpretation  of  the  things. 

Daniel's  Anxious  Concern  and  Inquiry. — 
It  is  apparent  that  this  vision  produced  the  most 
intense  anxiety  in  Daniel's  spirit  and  mind.  But 
he  had  recourse  open  to  him  to  "them  that  stood 
by."  Certainly  these  were  not  human  authorities, 
who  could  understand  no  more  than  he  could. 
This  book  abounds  in  illustrations  of  angelic 
ministration;  and  in  this  instance  we  have  evi- 
dence that  the  authority  for  the  correct  under- 
standing of  this  vision  is  angelic.  Daniel  asked 
for  "the  truth  of  all  this;"  and  he  declares  that 
the  angel  not  only  told  him,  but  that  he  also  made 


THE  FOUR  BEASTS  93 

him  know  the  interpretation  of  the  things.  Worse 
than  fiction,  worse  than  imposition,  is  the  whole 
book,  if  these  points  are  not  to  be  taken  as  repre- 
sented; it  would  be  nothing  short  of  sacrilege  to 
impute  mere  invention  to  these  representations. 

(a).  Interpretation  of  Terrestrial  Scene, 
vs.  17. 

These  great  beasts,  which  are  four,  are  four  kings, 
which  shall  arise  out  of  the  earth. 

(6).     Interpretation  of  Celestial  Scene,  vs.  18. 

But  the  saints  of  the  Most  High  shall  take  the  kingdom, 

and  possess  the  kingdom  for  ever,  even  for  ever  and  ever. 

(a).  The  Four  Beasts.— In  connection  with 
the  explanation  of  verse  1 7  that  these  four  beasts 
are  four  kings,  we  need  to  remember  that  we 
learned  from  the  interpretation  of  Nebuchadnez- 
zar's dream  that  the  word  "king"  may  be  used  for 
kingdom  or  empire;  and  not  only  covering  the  in- 
cumbency of  a  given  king  but  also  covering  the 
entire  duration  of  the  empire  itself.  "Thou  art 
this  head  of  gold.  And  after  thee  shall  arise  an- 
other kingdom."  And  here  in  chapter  7,  verse  23, 
we  read:  "And  the  fourth  beast  shall  be  the  fourth 
kingdom  upon  the  earth."  Hence,  it  was  made 
certain  to  Daniel  that  these  four  beasts  represented 
the  same  procession  of  world-empires  which  the 
image  of  Nebuchadnezzar's  dream  portrayed. 

Origin  and  Location  of  These  Empires. — 
"Behold  the  four  winds  of  the  heaven  strove  upon 
the  great  sea,  and  four  beasts  came  up  from  the 


94  THE  BOOK  OF  DANIEL 

sea,''  vss.  2,3.  From  preceding  testimony  of  this 
book  regarding  the  control  of  earthly  movements 
by  heaven,  we  are  not  presuming  too  much  in  un- 
derstanding by  these  winds  the  stupendous  opera- 
tions of  heavenly,  angelic  forces — those  of  light 
and  those  of  darkness  in  conflict.  These  four 
empires,  therefore,  had  their  real  origin  under 
celestial  operations. 

But  how  is  the  expression,  "the  great  sea,"  to 
be  taken  ?  In  harmony  with  the  symbolical  char- 
acter of  the  rest  of  the  description,  we  would  be 
inclined  to  take  this  expression  as  symbolical — 
say,  of  the  sea  of  humanity.  There  is  no  other 
use  of  this  term  in  exactly  this  sense.  There  are, 
however,  several  occurrences  in  Scripture  of  the 
expression,  "the  great  sea,"  in  a  strictly  geograph- 
ical meaning,  indicating  the  Mediterranean  Sea. 
And  that  sense  would  well  apply  here. 

This  Sea  may  be  truly  said  to  be  the  gan- 
glion, or  nerve  center,  of  these  four  great  historic 
empires.  The  first  one,  the  Babylonian,  of  Dan- 
iel's day,  did  not  rest  in  its  course  of  conquest 
until  it  obtained  undisputed  control  of  the  entire 
eastern  coast  of  the  Mediterranean.  The  second, 
the  Medo-Persian,  claimed  not  only  the  east  coast, 
but  also  the  north  coast  to  the  Aegean  Sea;  and 
Xerxes  endeavored  to  make  conquest  beyond  the 
Aegean.  The  third  empire,  the  Grecian,  arose, 
of  course,  adjacent  to  the  Mediterranean  on  the 
north;  and  it  made  sure,  at  the  outset,  of  all  the 
easterly  section  of  the  north  coast  and  of  all  the 


THE  FOUR  BEASTS  95 

east  coast  of  the  Mediterranean.  The  fourth  em- 
pire, the  Roman,  swept  under  its  conquering  tread 
all  the  Mediterranean  coasts  as  well  as  all  the  im- 
perial east.  It  seems  to  be  most  fitting,  then,  to 
believe  that  Daniel  was  shown  in  his  vision  the 
geographical  theater  of  this  great  drama  of  the 
Times  of  the  Gentiles. 

The  Apt  Symbolism  of  These  Empires. — 
The  four  beasts  chosen  as  symbols  of  these  empires 
form  a  group  of  descending  grades  of  nobility — 
if  nobility  can  be  ascribed  to  wild  beasts.  This 
indicated  that,  in  the  divine  view,  the  four  em- 
pires succeeded  one  another  in  a  descending  scale 
as  to  governmental  quality.  Hence,  Babylon  is 
symbolized  by  the  lion,  the  king  of  beasts.  His 
conquest  of  the  world  is  likened  to  the  majestic 
swoop  of  the  eagle,  the  noblest  creature  of  the 
skies.  Most  striking  is  the  picture  of  the  check, 
on  the  one  hand,  of  Nebuchadnezzar's  career  of 
dizzy  pride  by  his  debasement — "the  wings 
thereof  were  plucked" — and  of  his  elevation,  on 
the  other  hand,  from  his  grovelling  condition,  and 
his  restoration  to  true  kingly  stature,  having  "a 
man's  heart"  given  to  him,  i.  e.,  a  heart  to  ac- 
knowledge his  dependence  upon  God.  The  bear 
fitly  represents  Medo-Persia,  a  dual  empire,  ris- 
ing to  superior  power  on  one  side,  the  Persian. 
Its  propensity  for  conquest  is  depicted  as  of  a 
grosser  type  than  that  of  the  previous  empire,  and 
the  three  ribs  seen  in  its  mouth  represent,  prob- 
ably, the  three  great  kingdoms  which  it  crunched 


96  THE  BOOK  OF  DANIEL 

in  its  maw:  Babylon,  Lydia  and  Egypt.  The 
duality  of  this  empire  shows  deterioration  in  firm- 
ness as  well  as  in  quality. 

The  leopard  signifies  the  Grecian  empire,  and  it 
is  a  fit  symbol.  It  is  a  stealthy,  revengeful  beast; 
and  the  Grecian  conquest  was  one  of  stealthy  re- 
venge. The  four  wings  indicate  the  incredible 
swiftness  of  the  conquest  of  Alexander  the  Great; 
and  yet  they  are  the  wings  of  a  mere  fowl  of  the 
air.  Still  greater  deterioration  in  governmental 
compactness  and  stability  is  indicated  by  the  de- 
velopment into  ''four  heads."  The  Roman  em- 
pire, the  boast  of  the  human  historian,  finally 
follows  under  the  symbol  of  an  indescribably 
hideous  beast  without  name  or  classification — not 
worthy  of  being  represented  as  a  hyena  or  a 
coyote.  It  is  a  monster,  with  "great  iron  teeth." 
— What  greed!  "It  devoured."  What  ruthless- 
ness!  "It  brake  in  pieces."  What  destructive 
rage!  "It  stamped  the  residue  with  the  feet  of 
it."  This  is  Roman  militarism,  which  broke  out 
again  in  the  European  debacle  of  1914.  In  the 
fourth  beast  there  is  deterioration  again  in  quality, 
and  also  at  the  last  in  respect  to  unity. 

The  Last  Days  of  the  Roman  Empire. — "It 
had  ten  horns."  Evidently  these  correspond  to 
the  ten  toes  of  Nebuchadnezzar's  image  which 
marked  "the  latter  days"  of  the  times  covered  by 
the  panorama.  But  here  the  vision  adds  a  fea- 
ture before  unrevealed,  "another  little  horn." 
Its  rise  is  not  at  once  with  the  ten,  but  later  among 
them;  and  it  acquires  supremacy  over  them,  as 


THE  FOUR  BEASTS  97 

is  indicated  by  its  plucking  up  three  of  them  by 
the  roots.  This,  then,  is  the  symbolical  represen- 
tation of  the  last  organized  form  of  the  Roman 
empire:  a  ten-fold  monarchical  division  (remem- 
ber the  democratic  admixture  revealed  by  the  im- 
age), with  a  new-comer  gaining  the  dominance  of 
all.  He  is  represented  as  being,  not  merely  a  con- 
queror and  a  ruler,  but  also  a  remarkable  Seer 
and  a  presumptuous  Prophet.  Contrast  this  man 
of  acuteness  of  mind  and  arrogance  of  speech  with 
the  first  monarch  of  the  series,  who  was  at  least 
characterized  by  having  "a  man's  heart,"  i.  e.,  a 
heart  to  acknowledge  God  devoutly  and  loyally. 
How  rapidly  an  era  of  brains  and  mouth,  of  sci- 
ence and  godless  talk,  is  now  developing !  While 
we  are  not  yet  in  "the  last  days"  of  Gentile  Times, 
yet  how  plainly  present  tendencies  point  to  a  not- 
distant  re-mapping  of  the  sphere  of  the  Roman 
empire  into  ten  monarchico-democratic  kingdoms ; 
to  the  prevalence  of  an  era  of  vaulting  brainish- 
ness  and  boastful  godlessness;  and  to  a  man  as 
ultimate  lord  in  the  earth,  who,  with  all  Satanic 
wisdom  and  power  embodied  in  him,  will  com- 
mand the  admiration  and  obedience  of  all  who 
will  not  that  Christ  shall  come  and  rule  in  the 
earth. 

Why  Beasts  for  Symbols  of  the  Empires  ? 
— We  must  bow  in  respect  to  this  expression  of  the 
divine  estimate  of  the  character  of  this  world's 
imperial  rule.  What  are  the  attributes  of  beasts? 
To  keep  their  own  at  any  cost  within  their  might ; 
to  quarrel  over  what  they  do  not  have,  but  what 


98  THE  BOOK  OF  DANIEL 

they  want;  to  fly  easily  into  blood-thirsty  rage 
at  any  affront,  at  any  aggression,  for  any  coveted 
object;  under  passion,  to  take  utmost  satisfaction 
in  the  blood,  the  agonies,  the  loss,  the  death  of 
the  objects  of  their  rage;  in  a  word,  to  be  supreme 
in  rule,  in  possession,  in  indulgence,  in  so  far  as 
their  power  can  avail. 

God  foresaw  this  spirit  prevalent  in  the  world- 
empires  down  to  the  end.  Indeed,  it  is  the  very 
spirit  of  world-empire.  And  militarism  is  its  in- 
dispensable implement.  The  matter  can  scarcely 
be  put  more  baldly  and  impressively  than  was 
done  recently  by  an  Austrian  army  officer.  "  'Live 
and  let  live,'  is  no  device  for  an  army.  Con- 
tempt for  one's  own  comrades,  for  the  troops  of  the 
enemy,  and,  above  all,  a  fierce  contempt  for  one's 
own  person,  are  what  war  demands  of  every  one. 
Far  better  is  it  for  any  army  to  be  too  savage,  too 
cruel,  too  barbarous,  than  to  possess  too  much 
sentimentality  and  human  reasonableness.  If 
the  soldier  is  to  be  good  for  anything  as  a  soldier, 
he  must  be  exactly  the  opposite  of  a  thinking  and 
reasoning  man.  The  measure  of  goodness  in  him 
is  his  possible  use  in  war.  War,  and  even  peace, 
require  of  a  soldier  absolutely  peculiar  standards 
of  morality.  The  recruit  brings  with  him  the 
common  moral  notions,  of  which  he  must  seek  im- 
mediately to  get  rid.  For  him  victory,  success, 
must  be  everything.  The  most  barbaric  tenden- 
cies [we  may  well  say,  the  most  beastly  tenden- 
cies] in  men  come  to  life  again  in  war,  and  for 
war's  uses  they  are  incommensurably  good."     So 


THE  FOUR  BEASTS  99 

then,  "If  nations  are  to  be  good  for  anything  as 
militaristic  [imperialistic]  nations,  they  must  be 
exactly  the  opposite  of  thinking  and  reasoning 
nations;"  i.  e.,  they  must  be  as  beasts  in  God's 
sight. 

And  there  is  commercial  imperialism  as  well  as 
political  imperialism;  there  is  the  lust  for  domi- 
nance in  world-wide  trade.  This  may  almost  be 
said  to  be  the  prime  motive  of  modern  imperial- 
ism. It  is  a  fair  question,  whether  it  is  race- 
envy  or  commercial  envy  which  is  inciting  the 
present  international  strife.  How  infected  all 
nations  are  with  this  poison!  Militarism  has  to 
be  its  resort  just  as  much  as  that  of  political  impe- 
rialism. Greed  for  trade  will  fight  as  ferociously 
as  greed  for  political  sway.  How  alarmingly 
our  own  United  States  is  hurtling  along  this  path- 
way of  commercial  imperialism !  And  the  coun- 
sel is  urged  that,  if  we  are  to  obtain  and  retain  our 
own  share  of  world-wide  trade, — to  say  nothing  of 
getting  and  keeping  the  lion's  share  of  that  trade 
— adequate  military  and  naval  preparation  must 
straightway  be  made  for  the  time  when  we  shall 
come  to  grips  with  both  eastern  and  western 
worlds. 

(b).  The  Celestial  Interposition. — The 
words,  'T  beheld  till,"  show  that  what  is  now  pre- 
sented ensues  upon  the  preceding  spectacle.  It  is 
not  contemporaneous  with  it,  neither  does  it  grow 
out  of  it.  It  is  an  abrupt  interposition  to  it,  from 
another,  namely,  the  celestial  quarter.  That 
scene  was  in  the  terrestrial  sphere;  this  is  in  the 


100  THE  BOOK  OF  DANIEL 

celestial,  but  having  directly  to  do  with  that. 
That  was  a  picture,  beastly,  though  human;  this 
is  a  picture  angelic  and  divine. 

In  taking  up  this  part  of  the  vision,  we  must  bp 
guided  by  the  general  interpretation  of  it  given 
in  verse  18.  By  this  explanation  we  learn  that 
the  purport  of  this  celestial  scene  is  to  reveal  how 
that  the  rule  in  the  earth  is  to  be  transferred  from 
beasts  to  saints ;  more  particularly  we  may  put  it, 
how  that  the  Times  of  the  Gentiles — the  times  of 
Gentile  supremacy  over  Israel,  "the  saints  of  the 
Most  High"  by  calling — is  to  be  inverted,  and 
Israel  is  again  to  come  to  her  place  as  God's 
chosen  and  glorified  kingdom  on  earth. 

The  Exchange  of  Dominion  in  the  Sky. 
— The  expression,  "the  thrones  were  cast  down," 
shows  that  there  is  an  overthrow  of  existing  do- 
minion in  the  sphere  above,  to  give  place  to  the 
new  dominion.  "The  Ancient  of  Days"  can  be 
none  other  than  God  Almighty  and  Eternal.  He 
is  represented  as  taking  His  throne  in  quarters 
where  had  stood  thrones  which  must  be  cast  down 
before  Him.  It  implies  the  forcible  expulsion  of 
former  occupants  hostile  to  God  Almighty. 

We  know  of  no  sphere,  besides  this  earth,  where 
such  conditions  exist,  excepting  our  skies  above; 
there,  Scripture  teaches  us,  Satan  is  still  enthroned 
with  a  thoroughly  organized  kingdom  of  darkness. 
See  Eph.  6:  12.  From  thence,  it  is  represented, 
Satan  exercises  rule  in  this  earth.  On  this  ac- 
count Jesus  calls  him  "the  prince  of  this  world," 
who,    He   says,    "hath   nothing   in   me"    (John 


THE  FOUR  BEASTS  loi 

14:  30).  The  Apostle  Paul  calls  him  "the  god  of 
this  world"  (2  Cor.  4:  4);  and  in  Eph.  2:  2  he 
calls  him  "the  prince  of  the  power  of  the  air,"  i.  e., 
the  head  of  the  power  located  in,  and  ruling  from, 
the  sky.  Jesus  declares  this  prince  to  be  already 
judged  by  His  finished  redeeming  work  (John 
16:  11);  He  plainly  foresees  that  he  would  be 
"cast  out"  (John  12  :  31 )  ;  and  He  relates  that  He 
had  in  vision  seen  "Satan  as  lightning  fall  from 
heaven"  (Luke  10:  18). 

The  most  extended  and  graphic  description  of 
this  coming  expulsion  of  Satan  and  of  his  whole 
empire  from  our  heaven  is  recorded  by  the  Apostle 
John  in  Rev.  12:  7-10  as  a  part  of  the  momentous 
coming  events  which  were  revealed  to  him: 

And  there  was  war  in  heaven:  Michael  and  his  angels 
fought  against  the  dragon ;  and  the  dragon  fought  and  his 
angels,  and  prevailed  not;  neither  was  their  place  found 
any  more  in  heaven.  And  the  great  dragon  was  cast  out, 
that  old  serpent,  called  the  Devil,  and  Satan,  which  de- 
ceiveth  the  whole  world;  he  was  cast  out  into  the  earth, 
and  his  angels  were  cast  out  with  him.  And  I  heard  a 
loud  voice  saying  in  heaven,  Now  is  come  salvation,  and 
strength,  and  the  kingdom  of  our  God,  and  the  power  of 
His  Christ: 

It  should  be  noticed  that  this  passage  represents 
al  3  that  the  expulsion  of  Satan  gives  place  to  the 
manifestation  of  the  kingdom  of  God  and  the 
power  of  Christ.  The  assumption  by  the  Lord 
God  xAlmighty  of  throne-possession  and  adminis- 
tration in  the  sky  above  is  extendedly  recorded 
as  foreseen  by  John  in  Rev.  4 ;  and  the  same  hosts 


102  THE  BOOK  OF  DANIEL 

of  angelic  attendants  are  mentioned  in  Rev.  5:11. 
(The  writer  is  aware  that  the  R.  V.  prefers  the 
translation  of  Dan.  7:  9  thus:  "the  thrones  were 
placed."  In  that  case  we  would  understand  that 
thrones  attendant  upon  God  Almighty  are  in  view, 
such  as  those  mentioned  in  Rev.  4:4:  "And 
round  about  the  throne  were  four  and  twenty 
thrones:  and  upon  the  thrones  I  saw  four  and 
twenty  elders  sitting,  arrayed  in  white  raiment: 
and  on  their  heads  were  crowns  of  gold"  (R.  V.). 
But  the  expulsion  of  former  hostile  occupants 
would  none  the  less  still  be  implied). 

The  Judgment  Upon  the  Horn  and  His 
Empire. — "The  judgment  was  set,  and  the  books 
were  opened."  This  court  of  judgment  in  the  sky 
is  evidently  convened  to  render  final  decision  upon 
conditions  obtaining  in  the  earth,  through  Satanic 
influences,  from  the  beginning  of  Gentile  domin- 
ion over  Israel  under  Nebuchadnezzar  unto  its 
final  agent,  the  little  horn — the  Antichrist.  In 
this  last  ruler  all  the  ungodly  principles  of  this 
dominion  will  culminate.  It  is  indicated  that  the 
climax  of  his  offensiveness  to  God  is  reached  in 
"the  voice  of  the  great  words  which  the  horn 
spake" — words  presumptuous  and  self-glorify- 
ing after  the  manner  of  Nebuchadnezzar  in  his 
vaunting  pride — words  blasphemous  beyond  pre- 
cedent. 

The  verdict  rendered  and  put  into  execution  is 
seen  to  be  the  slaying  of  the  beast;  which  must 
mean,  not  only  the  end  of  the  horn  itself  as  the 
actual  ruler,  but  of  the  whole  imperial  system  as 


THE  FOUR  BEASTS  103 

well.  Verse  12  carries  this  judgment  back  upon 
the  preceding  beasts.  Distinction  is  made  be- 
tween the  dominion  and  the  life  of  these  empires. 
We  must  remember  that  each  succeeding  empire 
embraced  the  territory  of  nations  held  under  its 
predecessor.  So,  while  dominion  was  taken  away 
from  one  head  and  transferred  to  another,  yet  the 
life  of  the  component  members  of  the  body  of  the 
empire  was  continued.  So  while  the  ungodly  im- 
perial fabric  will  be  done  away  with  by  Christ, 
yet  nations  themselves  will,  at  His  pleasure,  still 
be  spared  for  the  millennial  age.  See  Matt. 
25:  31-46. 

The  New  Appointee  to  the  Dominion  of 
THE  Earth. — Verses  13,  14  are  so  clear  as  to 
need  little  comment.  No  one  could  question  that 
they  depict  the  appointment  by  Almighty  God — 
who  ruleth  in  heaven  and  on  earth — of  the  Son  of 
Man,  Jesus  Christ,  to  the  direct  reign  in  sovereign 
dignity  over  all  earthly  peoples  and  nations  and 
languages.  The  important  thing  to  notice  is 
that  His  investiture  with  this  authority  and  power 
— as  the  culmination  of  the  august  assize  which  is 
to  be  held  in  the  sky  over  us  after  Satan's  ejection 
and  after  the  Almighty  takes  effective  personal 
possession  there  with  all  His  angelic  hosts — is  the 
first  stage  of  the  establishing  of  the  everlasting 
kingdom  of  God  in  the  earth.  But,  as  we  saw 
before,  the  angelic  interpretation  given  in  verse 
18  represents  this  result  as  being  the  succession 
of  ''the  saints  of  the  Most  High"  to  everlasting 
kingdom;   which  means  the  restoration  forever 


104  THE  BOOK  OF  DANIEL 

of  the  theocratic  kingdom  of  Israel.  This  brings 
us  right  up  to  the  subject  of  the  rest  of  the  chapter; 
which  subject  was  the  matter  of  supreme  interest  to 
Daniel,  whom  God  made  the  revelator  of  the  last 
days  from  the  standpoint  of  Jewish  interests. 

Part  2 — Fuller  Details  of  Vision  and  Inter preth' 
tion  in  Their  Last  Stages. — Vss.  19-27, 

1       Inquiry  for  Further  Light,  vss.  19-22. 

19  Then  I  would  know  the  truth  of  the  fourth  beast, 
which  was  diverse  from  all  the  others,  exceeding  dreadful, 
whose  teeth  were  of  iron,  and  his  nails  of  brass;  which 
devoured,  brake  in  pieces,  and  stamped  the  residue  with 
his  feet;  20  And  of  the  ten  horns  that  were  in  his  head, 
and  of  the  other  which  came  up,  and  before  whom  three 
fell;  even  of  that  horn  that  had  eyes,  and  a  mouth  that 
spake  very  great  things,  whose  look  was  more  stout  than 
his  fellows.  21  I  beheld,  and  the  same  horn  made  war 
with  the  saints,  and  prevailed  against  them;  22  Until 
the  Ancient  of  days  came,  and  judgment  was  given  to  the 
saints  of  the  Most  High ;  and  the  time  came  that  the  saints 
possessed  the  kingdom. 

Focus  OF  THE  Inquiry. — -Careful  attention  to 
this  paragraph  will  show  one  that  Daniel's  in- 
quiry is  not  strictly  three-fold,  to  wit,  for  fuller 
light  co-ordinately  upon  the  fourth  beast,  the  ten 
horns  and  the  little  horn.  Passing  by  the  appal- 
ling procession  of  beasts, — passing  by  even  the 
awe-inspiring  setting  of  the  celestial  conquest  and 
judgment — he  begins  with  the  fourth  beast  and  its 
ten  horns  a  very  anxious  inquiry  regarding  the 
little  horn.  Consequently,  in  re-describing  the 
fourth  beast  he  does  no  more  than  to  identify  it, 


THE  FOUR  BEASTS  105 

excepting  that  he  notes  that  it  had  "nails  of  brass" 
as  well  as  ''teeth  of  iron"  with  which  to  do  its  de- 
structive work.  In  like  manner  he  merely  identi- 
fies "the  ten  horns  that  were  in  his  head."  But 
when  he  directs  his  inquiry  upon  the  little  horn,  he 
not  only  repeats  the  detailed  description  first 
given,  adding  emphasis  to  the  excessive  auda- 
ciousness of  this  personage,  but  his  inquiry  bears 
especially  upon  an  altogether  new  feature  of  great 
importance:  "I  beheld,  and  the  same  horn  made 
war  with  the  saints,  and  prevailed  against  them: 
until  the  Ancient  of  Days  game,  and  judgment  was 
given  to  the  saints  of  the  Most  High ;  and  the  time 
came  that  the  saints  possessed  the  kingdom." 

This  "war  with  the  saints"  is  an  entirely  new 
picture  of  conditions  associated  with  the  appearing 
of  the  Ancient  of  Days;  and  this  feature  is  evi- 
dently the  point  of  Daniel's  inquiry.  He  wished 
to  know  more  fully  about  the  horn's  warring 
against  the  saints  with  such  overwhelming  effect, 
until,  by  the  interposition  of  the  Ancient  of  Days, 
the  saints  of  the  Most  High  were  avenged  of  their 
destroyer  and  were  brought  into  possession  of  the 
kingdom.  The  point  of  the  inquiry  relates  to  this 
marvellous  inversion,  by  which  earthly  saints  are 
snatched  at  the  very  article  of  extermination  from 
a  raging  monarch  and  oppressor  and  are  them- 
selves brought  right  into  the  inheritance  of  the 
kingdom  in  the  earth.  Clear  vision  at  this  point 
cannot  fail  to  perceive  that  this  is  the  descrip- 
tion of  an  experience  awaiting  the  saints  of  earthly 
Israel. 


io6  THE  BOOK  OF  DANIEL 

2.      Answer  to  the  Inquiry,  vss.  23-27. 

23  Thus  he  said,  The  fourth  beast  shall  be  the  fourth 
kingdom  upon  earth,  which  shall  be  diverse  from  all  king- 
doms, and  shall  devour  the  whole  earth,  and  shall  tread  it 
down  and  break  it  in  pieces.  24  And  the  ten  horns  out  of 
this  kingdom  are  ten  kings  that  shall  arise:  and  another 
shall  rise  after  them;  and  he  shall  be  diverse  from  the 
f  :st,  and  he  shall  subdue  three  kings.  25  And  he  shall 
speak  great  words  against  the  Most  High,  and  shall  wear 
out  the  saints  of  the  Most  High,  and  think  to  change  times 
and  laws:  and  they  shall  be  given  into  his  hand  until  a 
time  and  times  and  the  dividing  of  time:  26  But  the 
judgment  shall  sit,  and  they  shall  take  away  his  dominion 
to  consume  and  to  destroy  it  unto  the  end.  27  And  the 
kingdom  and  dominion,  and  the  greatness  of  the  kingdom 
under  the  whole  heaven,  shall  be  given  to  the  people  of  the 
saints  of  the  Most  High,  whose  dominion  is  an  ever- 
lasting kingdom,  and  all  dominions  shall  serve  and  obey 
him. 

Focus  OF  THE  Answer. — Careful  attention  to 
this  paragraph  will  discover  that  the  answer  to 
Daniel's  inquiry  follows  exactly  the  same  plan 
that  we  have  noticed  in  the  inquiry  itself.  The 
main  point  of  the  answer  is  approached  through  a 
repetition  of  the  identifying  description  of  the 
fourth  beast,  or  ''kingdom,"  and  of  the  ten  horns, 
or  "ten  kings  that  shall  arise."  The  answer  cul- 
minates in  an  extended  explanation  of  the  other 
king's  war  upon  the  saints,  and  of  the  Most  High's 
intervention  to  transfer  the  kingdom  from  their 
destroyer  to  their  own  hands  forevermore.  Con- 
sequently, the  answer  or  explanation  proper  be- 
gins with  verse  25.  Our  attention  should,  then, 
rest  wholly  upon  the  interpretation  which  the 


THE  FOUR  BEASTS  107 

angel  gives  of  what  Daniel  saw  ''the  little  horn," 
as  the  final  exponent  of  Gentile  Times,  doing  to 
God's  chosen  people  whom  He,  in  indignation 
for  their  rebellions,  had  just  committed  in  Dan- 
iel's day  to  Gentile  supremacy ;  and  also  upon  the 
interpretation  of  that  reversal  of  their  fortunes 
which  Daniel  saw  the  Most  High  bring  about. 

In  passing  let  us  notice  that  verse  24  clearly 
shows  that  the  little  horn  is  to  be  an  individual 
king ;  and  that  the  ten  horns  are  also  to  be  individ- 
ual kings,  namely,  the  contemporaneous  rulers  of 
ten  kingdoms  which  shall  constitute  the  formation 
of  the  fourth  empire  in  its  last  days. 

The  Final  Persecution  of  Israel. — Verse 
25  explains  the  nature  of  the  horn's  great  words." 
They  are  a  direct  defiance  of  the  Most  High.  But 
who  is  this  Most  High  personally?  Verse  27 
represents  that  universal  earthly  acknowledgment 
shall  be  accorded  both  to  "the  saints  of  the  Most 
High"  and  to  the  Most  High  Himself.  Verse  18, 
which  interprets  verses  9-14,  is  in  harmony  with 
verse  27  in  showing  that  ''the  saints  of  the  Most 
High  shall  take  the  kingdom."  But  verses  13 
and  24  call  the  heavenly  One,  together  with  whom 
the  kingdom  is  to  be  given  to  the  saints,  "the  Son 
of  Man."  Hence  the  Most  High  and  the  Son  of 
Man  must  be  one  and  the  same  person ;  and  both 
expressions  mean  simply  the  Messiah  of  the  Jews, 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

Against  Him,  then,  directly  and  personally,  are 
the  great  words  of  defiance  to  be  spoken  by  the 
last  Gentile  lord  over  Israel.     His  people  it  is 


io8  THE  BOOK  OF  DANIEL 

that  this  Antichrist  shall  "wear  out,"  whose  festi- 
val "times"  also  and  inviolable  "laws"  he  will 
assay  "to  change."  "And  they  shall  be  given  into 
his  hands  until  a  time,  and  times,  and  the  dividing 
of  time."  That  is,  the  still  unpurified  Jewish 
people  shall  be  delivered  over  by  God,  without 
mercy  or  restraint,  to  this  malignant  and  defiant 
destroyer  for  3^  times,  or  years. 

Over  and  over  Old  Testament  prophecy  repre- 
sents that  the  Jews  are  to  suffer  a  brief  season  of 
unequalled  tribulation  just  at  the  end  of  their 
long  time  of  punishment,  out  of  which  final  retri- 
bution a  remnant  of  Israel  shall  be  saved  to  suffer 
no  more  forever;  e.  g.,  Jer.  30:  7,  8: 

Alas !  for  that  day  is  great,  so  that  none  is  like  it :  it  is 
even  the  time  of  Jacob's  trouble;  but  he  shall  be  saved 
out  of  it.  For  it  shall  come  to  pass  in  that  day,  saith 
the  Lord  of  hosts,  that  I  will  break  his  yoke  from  off  thy 
neck,  and  will  burst  thy  bonds,  and  strangers  shall  no 
more  serve  themselves  of  him. 

That  but  a  remnant  of  the  Jews,  because  of  their 
penitence,  will  come  safely  out  of  that  awful  day, 
is  shown  in  Joel  2:  11,  31,  32: 

And  the  Lord  shall  utter  his  voice  before  his  army;  for 
his  camp  is  very  great :  for  he  is  strong  that  executeth  his 
word:  for  the  day  of  the  Lord  is  great  and  very  terrible; 
and  who  can  abide  it?  The  sun  shall  ^ be  turned  into 
darkness,  and  the  moon  into  blood,  before  the  great  and 
terrible  day  of  the  Lord  come.  And  it  shall  come  to  pass, 
that  whosoever  shall  call  on  the  name  of  the  Lord  shall  be 
delivered:  for  in  mount  Zion  and  in  Jerusalem  shall  be 
deliverance,  as  the  Lord  hath  said,  and  in  the  remnant 
whom  the  Lord  shall  call. 


THE  FOUR  BEASTS  109 

That  this  great  tribulation  will  be  shartened,  lest 
all  the  Israelitish  elect  should  perish,  is  declared 
by  our  Savior,  Matt.  25:  21,  22: 

For  then  shall  be  great  tribulation,  such  as  was  not 
since  the  beginning  of  the  world  to  this  time,  no,  nor  ever 
shall  be.  And  except  those  days  were  shortened,  there 
should  no  flesh  be  saved:  but  for  the  elect's  sake  those 
days  shall  be  shortened. 

Another  New  Testament  passage  shows  why 
Israel  was  cut  off,  on  what  condition  alone  it  is 
possible  for  her  to  be  restored,  the  fact  that  such 
complete  restoration  of  all  surviving  Israel  will 
succeed  "the  fulness  of  the  Gentiles,"  and  that  this 
salvation  will  be  by  the  intervention  of  their  cov- 
enanted Deliverer.     See  Rom.  11:  23,  25-27: 

And  they  also,  if  they  abide  not  still  in  unbelief,  shall  be 
graffed  in,  for  God  is  able  to  graff  them  in  again.  For  I 
would  not,  brethren,  that  ye  should  be  ignorant  of  this 
mystery,  (lest  ye  should  be  wise  in  your  own  conceits) 
that  blindness  in  part  is  happened  to  Israel,  until  the  ful- 
ness of  the  Gentiles  be  come  in.  And  so  all  Israel  shall 
be  saved :  as  it  is  written.  There  shall  come  out  of  Sion  the 
Deliverer  and  shall  turn  away  ungodliness  from  Jacob: 
For  this  is  my  covenant  unto  them,  when  I  shall  take  away 
their  sins. 

The  Final  Judgment  in  Behalf  or  Israel. 
— It  will  render  verses  26  and  27  more  vivid  to 
give  Leeser's  striking  translation :  ^'But  they  will 
sit  down  to  hold  judgment,  and  they  will  take  away 
his  dominion,  to  destroy  and  to  annihilate  it  unto 
the  end.  And  the  kingdom  and  the  dominion,  and 
the  power  over  the  kingdoms  under  the  whole 


no  THE  BOOK  OF  DANIEL 

heaven,  shall  be  given  to  the  people  of  the  saints 
of  the  Most  High,  whose  kingdom  is  an  everlasting 
kingdom,  and  all  governments  are  to  worship  and 
obey  Him." 

Explanation  could  not  render  it  clearer — that 
the  present  order  of  Gentile  rule  over  scattered  Is- 
rael is  to  close  with  the  organization  of  the  fourth 
empire  under  ten  kings ;  that  over  these  ten  an  up- 
start shall  gain  the  Caesarship,  and  shall  crown 
his  reign  with  inconceivable  defiance  of  the  re- 
turning Messiah  and  with  annihilating  measures 
against  the  Jews  and  all  their  institutions ;  that  at 
the  time  appointed,  i.  e.,  after  three  and  one  half 
years,  the  judgment  shall  fall  from  heaven  upon 
this  destroyer,  annihilating  him  and  the  whole  im- 
perial fabric;  and  that  thereupon  the  Most  High 
— in  the  person  of  the  Messiah,  the  Son  of  Man — 
shall  bring  the  holy  remnant  of  Israel  into  the 
kingdom  promised  to  them  from  Abraham  down, 
and  shall  place  them  in  power  forever  over  all 
kingdoms  under  heaven,  by  requiring  all  govern- 
ments to  worship  and  obey  their  King  as  "the 
blessed  and  only  Potentate,  the  King  of  kings,  and 
the  Lord  of  lords." 

28  Hitherto  is  the  end  of  the  matter.  As  for  me  Daniel, 
my  cogitations  troubled  me,  and  my  countenance  changed 
in  me :  but  I  kept  the  matter  in  my  heart. 

Effect  of  the  Revelation  upon  Daniel. — 
We  can  in  some  degree  enter  into  sympathy  with 
Daniel  regarding  this  disclosure  of  the  solution  of 
that  great  problem  which  had  weighed  upon  his 


THE  FOUR  BEASTS  in 

heart  since  the  indignation  of  God  began  to  be 
poured  out  upon  Israel  in  their  captivity  and  their 
subjection  to  the  Gentiles.  Even  the  problem  of 
the  Babylonian  captivity  was  a  burning  question, 
as  a  careful  reading  of  Jer.  29  will  show.  Opin- 
ions and  prophecies  directly  opposed  to  God's  plan 
were  rife  and  pretentious.  How  much  weightier 
the  problem  of  Israel's  long  retirement  from  her 
high  calling  to  earthly  supremacy !  No  one,  per- 
haps, ever  gave  himself  like  Daniel  to  waiting 
upon  God  for  the  solution  of  this  inscrutable  prob- 
lem. Daniel  so  impersonated  the  nation  before 
God,  both  in  her  affliction  and  in  her  high  and 
irreversible  calling,  as  to  move  heaven  to  disclose 
the  momentous  secret.  And  the  prophetic  vision 
was  needed  for  the  support  and  comfort  of  pious 
Jews  throughout  the  Times  of  the  Gentiles. 


VIII 

VISION  OF  THE  RAM  AND  THE 
HE-GOAT 

The  reader  is  again  urged  first  to  examine  this 
chapter  carefully  in  his  Bible.  He  will  find  the 
chapter  to  be  very  distinctly  constructed  after  the 
outline  below.  Such  examination  will  greatly 
help  the  reader  of  these  pages  to  perceive  the  un- 
folding of  the  vision,  as  we  study  the  material  of 
the  chapter  in  its  successive  parts  according  to  this 
outline. 

INTRODUCTION— Vss.  1,2. 
Part  1 — The  Vision. — Vss.  3-14. 

1.  The  Vision  Proper,  vss.  3-12. 

{a)     The  Ram  and  the  He-Goat,  vss.  2>-^. 
lb)     The  Little  Horn,  vss.  9-12. 

2.  Special  Supplementary  Vision,  vss.  13,  14. 

Part  2 — The  Interpretation. — Vss.  15-26. 
Introduction,  vss.  15-19. 

1.  Interpretation  Proper,  vss.  20-25. 
{a)     Medo-Persia  and  Greece,  vss.  20-22. 
{h)     The  King  of  Fierce  Countenance,  vss. 

23-25. 

2.  Confirmation  of  Special  Vision,  vs.  26. 

CONCLUSION— Vs.  27. 

112 


THE  RAM  AND  THE  HE-GOAT     113 

INTRODUCTION— Vss.  1,2. 

1  In  the  third  year  of  the  reign  of  king  Belshazzar  a 
vision  appeared  unto  me,  even  unto  me  Daniel,  after  that 
which  appeared  unto  me  at  the  first.  2  And  I  saw  in  a 
vision;  and  it  came  to  pass  when  I  saw,  that  I  was  at 
Shushan  in  the  palace,  which  is  in  the  province  of  Elam; 
and  I  saw  in  a  vision,  and  I  was  by  the  river  of  Ulai. 

Time  and  Place  of  the  Vision. — The  fact 
that  Daniel  in  his  vision  was  at  the  palace  of  the 
capital  city  of  the  province  of  Elam,  which  city 
some  time  after  the  fall  of  Babylon  became  the 
capital  of  the  succeeding  Medo-Persian  Empire, 
would  strongly  imply  that  the  reign  of  Belshazzar, 
the  last  ruler  of  Babylon,  was  about  to  close. 
Hence,  we  infer  that  ''the  third  year  of  the  reign 
of  king  Belshazzar"  was  his  last,  and  that  the  date 
of  this  vision  was,  accordingly,  538  B.  C.  This 
would  make  Daniel's  age  about  87  years.  It  was 
a  most  appropriate  time  for  him  to  receive  a  vision 
in  which  Babylon  is  entirely  lost  from  view. 

Part  1 — The  Vision. — Vss.  3-14. 

This  vision  falls  into  two  parts.  The  first  part 
is  the  main  vision  which  was  directly  presented  to 
Daniel;  the  second  part  is  a  special  communica- 
tion on  a  particular  point  of  the  vision,  which 
communication  was  given  to  Daniel  under  very 
special  circumstances. 

1.  The  Vision  Proper,  vss.  3-12. 

This  main  vision  is  also  twofold,  the  first  part 
being  but  the  background  to  the  second,  which  is 
the  matter  of  prime  interest  and  notice. 


114  THE  BOOK  OF  DANIEL 

(a)     The  Ram  and  the  He-Goat,  vss.  3-8. 

3  Then  I  Hfted  up  mine  eyes,  and  saw,  and  behold, 
there  stood  before  the  river  a  ram  which  had  two  horns: 
and  the  two  horns  were  high ;  but  one  was  higher  than  the 
other,  and  the  higher  came  up  last.  4  I  saw  the  ram  push- 
ing westward,  and  northward,  and  southward;  so  that  no 
beasts  might  stand  before  him,  neither  was  there  any  that 
could  deliver  out  of  his  hand;  but  he  did  according  to  his 
will,  and  became  great.  5  And  as  I  was  considering,  be- 
hold, an  he-goat  came  from  the  west  on  the  face  of  the 
whole  earth,  and  touched  not  the  ground:  and  the  goat  had 
a  notable  horn  between  his  eyes.  6  And  he  came  to  the 
ram  that  had  two  horns,  which  I  had  seen  standing  before 
the  river,  and  ran  unto  him  in  the  fury  of  his  power.  7 
And  I  saw  him  come  close  unto  the  ram,  and  he  was  moved 
with  choler  against  him,  and  smote  the  ram,  and  brake  his 
two  horns:  and  there  was  no  power  in  the  ram  to  stand 
before  him,  but  he  cast  him  down  to  the  ground,  and 
stamped  upon  him :  and  there  was  none  that  could  deliver 
the  ram  out  of  his  hand.  8  Therefore,  the  he-goat  waxed 
very  great:  and  when  he  was  strong,  the  great  horn  was 
broken;  and  for  it,  came  up  four  notable  ones  toward  the 
four  winds  of  heaven. 

The  Ram. — Daniel  must  have  recognized  in 
this  ram  the  bear-kingdom  of  the  previous  vision. 
The  same  dual  organization  is  indicated  by  the 
two  horns,  even  the  fact  that  one  member  of  the 
dual  kingdom  was  to  be  superior  to  the  other. 
The  fact  that  the  stronger  member  was  to  be  last 
to  take  precedence  was  a  new  feature.  Then,  the 
description  of  the  ram's  conquest  of  three  terri- 
tories— ''westward,  and  northward,  and  south- 
ward"— agrees  with  the  symbol  of  the  three  ribs 
seen  in  the  bear's  mouth. 

The  Goat. — While  this  vision  is  much  more 


THE  RAM  AND  THE  HE-GOAT     115 

detailed  than  that  of  the  leopard  in  7 :  6,  yet  the 
essentials — the  celerity  of  progress,  and  the 
abruptness  of  dismemberment — are  clearly  par- 
allel in  the  two  visions.  So  that  Daniel  must 
have  felt  the  more  convinced  that  thus  far  this 
vision  retraced,  although  with  different  symbol- 
ism, ground  already  twice  covered,  namely,  in  the 
previous  vision  and  in  Nebuchadnezzar's  dream 
of  the  great  image. 

(b)     The  Little  Horn,  vss.  9-12. 

9  And  out  of  one  of  them  came  forth  a  little  horn, 
which  waxed  exceeding  great,  toward  the  south,  and  to- 
ward the  east,  and  toward  the  pleasant  land.  10  And  it 
waxed  great,  even  to  the  host  of  heaven;  and  it  cast  down 
some  of  the  host  and  of  the  stars  to  the  ground,  and 
stamped  upon  them.  11  Yea,  he  magnified  himself  even 
to  the  prince  of  the  host,  and  by  him  the  daily  sacrifice 
was  taken  away,  and  the  place  of  his  sanctuary  was  cast 
down.  12  And  an  host  was  given  him  against  the  daily 
sacrifice  by  reason  of  transgression,  and  it  cast  down  the 
truth  to  the  ground;  and  it  practised,  and  prospered. 

Jewish  Conquest,  Desecration  and  Judg- 
ment.— We  go  on  tracing  what  must  have  been 
plain  to  Daniel  during  the  progress  of  the  vision, 
before  interpretation  was  given,  in  order  the  better 
to  catch  the  interpretation  of  that  which  needed  to 
be  interpreted.  In  the  description  of  this  con- 
queror's progress,  the  last  expression  of  verse  9, 
"the  pleasant  land,"  must  have  meant  to  Daniel 
his  native  land,  the  Holy  Land.  Then,  the  ex- 
pression in  verse  10,  ''the  host  of  heaven,"  must 
have  meant  to  him  his  own  people,  the  only  nation 
on  earth  to  be  properly  considered  heaven's  earthly 


ii6  THE  BOOK  OF  DANIEL 

host.  ''The  stars"  would  mean  the  leaders  of  his 
people  who  should  be  their  spiritual  luminaries. 
Verse  11  describes  awful  desecration,  defiance  of 
the  heavenly  Prince  of  Daniel's  people,  termina- 
tion of  the  daily  burnt  offering,  and  overthrow  of 
the  "place  of  his,"  the  Prince's,  "sanctuary" — the 
holy  temple  itself.  But  verse  12  shows  that  all 
this  is  in  the  nature  of  a  judgment  upon  the  "host 
of  heaven."  Leeser's  translation  of  this  verse 
helps  very  much:  "And  the  host  is  given  up  to- 
gether with  the  continual  sacrifice,  by  reason  of 
transgression :  and  it  casteth  down  the  truth  to  the 
ground,  and  it  doth  (this),  and  is  prosperous." 
This  shows  that  people  and  religious  sanctities  are 
to  be  wholly  delivered  over  to  that  malignant,  god- 
less power  to  wreak  his  sacrilegious  will  and  to 
prosper  in  doing  so.  This  adds  light  to  what  had 
already  been  revealed  in  7 :  25 :  "And  they  shall 
be  given  into  his  hand  until  a  time  and  times  and 
the  dividing  of  time." 

2.  Special  Supplementary  Vision,  vss.  13, 14. 

13  Then  I  heard  one  saint  speaking,  and  another  saint 
said  unto  that  certain  saint  which  spake,  How  long  shall  be 
the  vision  concerning  the  daily  sacrifice,  and  the  trans- 
gression of  desolation,  to  give  both  the  sanctuary  and  the 
host  to  be  trodden  under  foot?  14  And  he  said  unto  me, 
Unto  two  thousand  and  three  hundred  days ;  then  shall  the 
sanctuary  be  cleansed. 

Vindication. — This  special  inquiry  which  one 
angel  made  of  another  in  Daniel's  hearing,  the 
answer  to  which  the  latter  angel  addressed  to  Dan- 
iel, relates  to  the  length  of  time  during  which  the 


THE  RAM  AND  THE  HE-GOAT      117 

sanctuary  and  the  host  should  be  trodden  under 
foot.  The  words  of  the  reply,  ''then  shall  the 
sanctuary  be  cleansed"  (marginal  reading,  "jus- 
tified"), shows  that  the  question  of  interest  is, 
when  the  vindication  against  such  indignities 
should  be  granted. 

How  evident  it  is  that  the  weight  of  the  vision 
of  this  chapter  has  to  do  with  the  little  horn's 
dealings  with  Daniel's  people,  with  their  sacred 
house,  and  with  their  observances !  This  dealing 
is  shown  to  be  a  judgment  for  transgression,  fol- 
lowed, however,  by  a  glorious  vindication.  The 
approach  to  this  main  body  of  the  vision  is  through 
a  panorama  of  the  familiar  second  and  third  em- 
pires down  to  the  coming  of  a  fearful  conqueror 
and  oppressor  of  the  Jews,  who  shall  spring  out 
of  one  of  the  four  divisions  of  the  third  empire. 
This  division  is  seen  to  be  not  the  southern,  or  the 
eastern  division,  and  perhaps  not  even  the  one 
reaching  "toward  the  pleasant  land." 

Part  2 — The  Interpretation. — Vss.  15-26. 

The  interpretation  follows  the  divisions  which 
we  have  observed  in  the  course  of  the  vision  and 
its  supplement. 

Introduction,  vss.  15-19. 
15  And  it  came  to  pass,  when  I,  even  I  Daniel  had  seen 
the  vision,  and  sought  for  the  meaning,  then,  behold,  there 
stood  before  me  as  the  appearance  of  a  man.  16  And  I 
heard  a  man's  voice  between  the  banks  of  Ulai,  which 
called,  and  said,  Gabriel,  make  this  man  to  understand  the 
vision.  17  So  he  came  near  where  I  stood :  and  when  he 
came,  I  was  afraid,  and  fell  upon  my  face:  but  he  said 


ii8  THE  BOOK  OF  DANIEL 

unto  me,  Understand,  O  son  of  man:  for  at  the  time  of 
the  end  shall  be  the  vision.  18  Now  as  he  was  speaking 
with  me,  I  was  in  a  deep  sleep  on  my  face  toward  the 
ground:  but  he  touched  me,  and  set  me  upright.  19  And 
he  said.  Behold,  I  will  make  thee  know  what  shall  be  in  the 
last  end  of  the  indignation :  for  at  the  time  appointed  the 
end  shall  be. 

Daniel's  Preparation  for  Understanding 
THE  Vision. — Notwithstanding  there  was  so 
much  in  this  vision  which,  as  we  have  reasonably 
conjectured,  Daniel  must  have  understood  from 
what  had  been  supplied  by  the  previous  vision  and 
by  Nebuchadnezzar's  dream,  yet  the  real  vital 
purport  of  it  was  evidently  still  a  deep  mystery 
to  him. 

This  impresses  us  with  the  fact,  that  each  one  of 
the  five  revelations — the  first  one  being  that  given 
to  Nebuchadnezzar,  the  other  four  being  those 
given  directly  to  Daniel  through  his  four  visions 
— constitutes  a  distinctive  portion  of  a  composite 
revelation  of  one  and  the  same  grand  consumma- 
tion. We  have  seen  that  the  first  one,  that  of 
Nebuchadnezzar's  dream,  distinctively  revealed 
the  coming  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven  to  supersede 
the  Times  of  the  Gentiles.  We  have  seen  that  the 
vision  of  the  Four  Beasts  had  for  its  object  a 
further  distinctive  revelation,  which  had  to  be 
wholly  interpreted  to  Daniel  notwithstanding 
there  was  so  much  which  the  dream  of  Nebuchad- 
nezzar had  already  made  intelligible  to  him. 
This  further  revelation  was  that  the  saints  of  Is- 
rael were  to  inherit  that  kingdom  of  heaven.     We 


THE  RAM  AND  THE  HE-GOAT     119 

are  prepared  now  to  find  in  the  interpretative  part 
of  the  present  chapter  a  further  distinctive  portion 
of  this  composite  revelation  of  the  last  days. 

We  notice  that  Daniel  ''sought  for  the  mean- 
ing'' of  the  vision  (vs.  15).  One  abundantly 
qualified,  even  the  angel  Gabriel,  was  directed  to 
"make  this  man  understand  the  vision"  (vs.  15). 
The  same  addressed  the  charge  to  Daniel,  "Under- 
stand" (vs.  17)  ;  and  he  also  assured  him,  "I  will 
make  thee  know"  (vs.  19).  This  prepares  us  to 
believe  that  such  competent  pains  were  taken  for 
Daniel's  understanding,  that  we  may  rely  upon 
the  interpretation  as  being  sufficiently  clear  not 
only  for  Daniel  but  for  ourselves  also.  Only,  we 
must  put  ourselves  in  Daniel's  place  and  let  ex- 
actly what  afforded  him  his  understanding  afford 
us  ours  also. 

Most  Notevv^orthy  is  the  care  the  angel  took 
to  rivet  Daniel's  eye  beforehand  upon  the  same 
last  days  with  which  he  was  already  familiar,  as 
the  time  with  which  this  new  vision  had  to  do. 
This  the  angel  accomplished  by  a  three-fold  reit- 
eration: "At  the  time  of  the  end  shall  be  the 
vision"  (vs.  17),  "I  will  make  thee  know  what 
shall  be  in  the  last  end  of  the  indignation"  (vs. 
19) ;  "For  at  the  time  appointed  the  end  shall  be" 
(vs.  19).  Leeser's  translation  is  more  striking 
still:  "Because  for  the  time  of  the  end  is  the 
vision";  "I  will  make  known  unto  thee  what  is  to 
be  in  the  last  end  of  the  indignation";  "For  it  is 
for  the  appointed  time  of  the  end."  Could  an 
archangel's  authority  and  care  go  farther  to  make 


120  THE  BOOK  OF  DANIEL 

it  plain,  before  the  interpretation  itself  is  given, 
that  the  matter  to  be  divulged  belongs  to  the  very 
end  of  the  dispensation  under  consideration? 

The  Key  to  the  Meaning. — In  those  words, 
*T  will  make  thee  know  what  shall  be  in  the  last 
end  of  the  indignation,"  we  have  the  key  to  the 
meaning  of  the  vision. 

As  we  saw  at  the  beginning  of  our  study,  the 
chronological  point  of  departure  from  which  the 
whole  book  of  Daniel  proceeds — namely,  ^'the 
third  year  of  the  reign  of  Jehoiakim  the  king  of 
Judah,"  when  Nebuchadnezzar  took  Jerusalem 
the  first  time  and  instituted  the  first  stage  of 
the  Jewish  captivity — was  the  very  hour  when,  in 
the  historical,  political,  and  religious  status  of  the 
Jews,  there  began  for  them  that  crucial  transition 
— from  an  independent  relationship  to  the  Lord 
as  their  King  and  to  His  favor,  to  a  relationship 
to  His  sovereignty  and  favor  which  subsisted 
through  the  medium  of  the  imperial  supremacy 
of  the  Gentiles. 

In  that  day,  when  God's  long-restrained  indig- 
nation was  beginning  to  be  signally  manifested 
against  His  persistently  rebellious  people — in 
their  downfall,  their  captivity,  and  their  subjec- 
tion to  Gentile  rule — this  expression,  ''the  last  end 
of  the  indignation,"  could  mean  to  a  Jew  like 
Daniel  nothing  less  than  the  longed-for,  the  final, 
— but  even  yet  unreached — end  of  Israel's  ex- 
pulsion from  her  kingdom  and  of  her  committal 
to  world-wide  dispersion  and  derision  by  the  un- 
sparing judgment  of  her  Lord.     The  angel  ap- 


THE  RAM  AND  THE  HE-GOAT     121 

prises  Daniel  that  this  vision  was  given  for  the 
purpose  of  unveiling  the  closing  stage  of  God's 
punishment  of  Israel,  preparatory  to  bringing  her 
into  her  destined  place  in  the  earth.  Therefore 
our  eyes  also  must  be  fixed  throughout  this  vision 
and  its  interpretation  upon  days  yet  to  come, — 
the  ''last  days"  of  the  Times  of  the  Gentiles. 

1.  Interpretation  Proper,  vss.  20-25. 

This  part  falls  into  two  well-defined  sections. 
The  first  one  is  general;  the  second,  which  is  the 
one  of  main  consequence,  to  which  the  former 
serves  as  a  necessary  approach,  is  specific  and 
detailed. 

(a)     Medo-Persia  and  Greece,  vss.  20-22. 

20  The  ram  which  thou  sawest  having  two  horns  are 
the  kings  of  Media  and  Persia.  21  And  the  rough  goat 
is  the  king  of  Grecia:  and  the  great  horn  that  is  between 
his  eyes  is  the  first  king.  22  Now  that  being  broken, 
whereas  four  stood  up  for  it,  four  kingdoms  shall  stand  up 
out  of  the  nation,  but  not  in  his  power. 

Medo-Persia. — It  sufficed  merely  to  designate 
to  Daniel  the  two  powers  of  his  day  which,  in  com- 
bination as  a  dual  monarchy,  were  next  to  rule 
the  imperial  world  after  the  impending  fall  of 
Babylon.  These  two  kingdoms  lying  eastward 
from  Babylon  were  already  thundering  at  her 
gates;  and,  if  our  previous  conjecture  be  correct, 
the  end  arrived  in  this  same  "third  year  of  the 
reign  of  king  Belshazzar."  Darius,  the  Median, 
first  reigned  two  years;  after  his  death  the  seep- 


122  THE  BOOK  OF  DANIEL 

ter  passed  to  Cyrus,  the  Persian ;  thereafter  Persia 
remained  the  horn  that  "was  higher  than  the 
other."  According  to  verse  4  these  joint  powers 
overcame  three  great  realms — Babylon,  Lydia  and 
Egypt — besides  all  lesser  powers  included  within 
the  Babylonian  Empire.  Indeed,  the  second  em- 
pire became  greater  in  territory  than  the  first. 

Greece. — This  is  the  first  prophecy  which  re- 
veals that  Greece  was  to  gain  imperial  ascendancy. 
It  is  here  shown  that  she  was  to  be  the  third  mem- 
ber of  the  image,  the  third  of  the  four  beasts. 
Even  in  Daniel's  day  Greece  was  a  great  power  on 
the  western  horizon,  never  yet  included  in  the  im- 
perial world.  She  had  epochs  of  overflow  into 
adjacent  regions,  partly  through  pressure  from 
invading  streams  and  partly  from  colonizing  her 
congested  inhabitants.  Still,  so  far  from  her  giv- 
ing indication  at  this  time  of  rising  to  imperial 
sway,  she  had  already  lost  her  provinces  in  Asia 
Minor  to  Croesus,  the  king  of  Lydia. 

The  "notable  horn"  of  the  "he-goat,"  whose 
conquest  of  the  eastern  empire  filled  so  large  a 
place  in  the  second  stage  of  the  vision  (verses  5- 
8),  is  explained  to  Daniel  to  be  "the  first  king." 
This  is  the  conqueror  so  well  known  to  history  as 
Alexander  the  Great.  In  the  vision  this  horn  is 
no  sooner  become  "strong,"  i.  e.,  dominant  over 
all,  than  it  was  broken  off,  and  four  "notable 
ones"  came  up  in  its  room  "toward  the  four  winds 
of  heaven."  From  the  interpretation  we  learn 
that  this  means  the  partition  of  the  empire  of  Alex- 
ander into  four  kingdoms  constituting  the  eastern, 


THE  RAM  AND  THE  HE-GOAT     123 

western,  northern  and  southern  quarters  of  the 
same,  which  history  is  familiar  with  as  the  king- 
doms of  Chaldea,  Greece,  Syria  and  Egypt.  It  is 
noted  that  this  was  a  weaker  form  of  the  Grecian 
Empire. 

(b)  The  King  of  Fierce  Countenance,  vss. 
23-25. 

23  And  in  the  latter  time  of  their  kingdom,  when  the 
transgressors  are  come  to  the  full,  a  king  of  fierce  counte- 
nance, and  understanding  dark  sentences,  shall  stand  up. 
24  And  his  power  shall  be  mighty,  but  not  by  his  own 
power:  and  he  shall  destroy  wonderfully,  and  shall  pros- 
per, and  practice,  and  shall  destroy  the  mighty  and  the  holy 
people.  25  And  through  his  policy  also  he  shall  cause 
craft  to  prosper  in  his  hand;  and  he  shall  magnify 
himself  in  his  heart,  and  by  peace  shall  destroy  many:  he 
shall  also  stand  up  against  the  Prince  of  princes;  but  he 
shall  be  broken  without  hand. 

The  Time  Guide. — Now  that  we  are  brought 
to  the  main  matter  of  the  vision,  the  importance  of 
the  time-data  which  the  angel  gave  to  Daniel  in 
his  introductory  statements  becomes  apparent. 

Owing  to  the  fact  that  the  little  horn  was  seen 
to  spring  from  one  of  the  ''four  notable  ones" 
which  succeeded  the  ''great  horn,"  we  would  nat- 
urally look  for  this  "king  of  fierce  countenance" 
in  the  past  days  of  the  four  kingdoms  of  the  Gre- 
cian Empire,  especially  for  some  king  who  greatly 
horrified  and  afflicted  the  Jews.  And  such  a  per- 
sonage seems  to  be  found  in  Antiochus  Epiphanes, 
a  king  of  Syria.  His  doings  of  cruelty  and  sacri- 
lege in  the  Holy  Land  are  writ  large  in  the  annals 


124  THE  BOOK  OF  DANIEL 

of  both  Jewish  and  Gentile  history.  If  we  did 
not  examine  the  case  closely,  we  would  be  dis- 
posed to  hold  tenaciously  to  the  application  of  this 
vision  to  him. 

But  the  language  of  the  vision  in  various  parts 
fails  altogether  to  apply  to  Antiochus  Epiphanes. 
History  records  no  conquest  on  his  part  ''toward 
the  east,"  as  verse  9  demands;  Antiochus  did  not 
''magnify  himself  against  the  Prince  of  the  host"; 
the  "place  of  His  sanctuary"  was  not  cast  down 
by  Antiochus  in  the  sense  evidently  intended  in 
the  vision;  neither  were  "both  the  sanctuary  and 
the  host  .  .  .  trodden  under  foot"  by  him  for 
"two  thousand  and  three  hundred  days,"  i.  e.,  six 
years,  four  months  and  twenty  days.  Indeed,  so 
far  from  "the  host  being  given  up"  (Leeser)  to 
him,  and  that  "by  reason  of  transgression" 
(Leeser),  the  Jews,  although  subjected  to  fiercest 
and  most  persistent  pressure,  nevertheless  success- 
fully withstood  Antiochus,  showing  that  they  had 
God's  favor  and  support ;  and  they  won  for  them- 
selves under  the  Maccabees  the  greatest  independ- 
ence and  prosperity  that  they  have  ever  had  since 
the  fall  of  the  kingdom  in  587  B.  C. 

But  the  interpreting  angel  had  carefully  forti- 
fied Daniel's  mind  against  looking  for  this  "king 
of  fierce  countenance"  and  for  his  practices  before 
"the  time  of  the  end,"  or  "the  last  end  of  the  indig- 
nation." And  the  language  of  the  interpretation 
at  this  vital  point  puts  the  matter  beyond  dispute 
or  uncertainty.  "And  in  the  latter  time  of  their 
kingdom,  when  the  transgressors  are  come  to  the 


THE  RAM  AND  THE  HE-GOAT     125 

full,  a  king  of  fierce  countenance,  and  understand- 
ing dark  sentences,  shall  stand  up,"  verse  23. 
The  time  of  Antiochus  was  in  the  former  time  of 
those  kingdoms.  His  day  was  not  even  in  the 
latter  time  of  the  old  Grecian  Empire;  for  he 
came  to  his  end  more  than  one  hundred  years  be- 
fore the  Grecian  Empire  ended. 

The  simple  solution  is  that  those  four  kingdoms 
are  to  have  ''a  latter  time";  i.  e.,  they  are  to  be 
again  represented  territorially  as  four  kingdoms 
in  the  last  days  of  the  Times  of  the  Gentiles. 
And  out  of  one  of  them — the  final  Mesopotamia, 
Syria,  Egypt,  or  Greece — this  great  destroyer  of 
God's  Israel  is  to  appear.  That  it  is  not  to  be 
out  of  the  Chaldean  or  the  Egyptian  quarter  is 
clear  from  the  description  of  his  conquest  of  those 
regions  (vs.  9).  And  the  expression,  ''toward 
the  pleasant  land,"  would  go  far  to  imply  that  he 
will  not  arise  in  Syria,  but  in  Greece. 

Equally  important  is  it  to  notice  the  expression, 
"when  the  transgressors  have  come  to  the  full" — 
"when  the  transgressors  have  filled  the  measure  of 
their  guilt"  (Leeser).  Taken  together  with  the 
expression,  "by  reason  of  transgression"  (vs.  12), 
and  the  statement  of  the  angel,  'T  will  make  thee 
know  what  shall  be  in  the  last  end  of  the  indigna- 
tion" (vs.  19),  we  cannot  fail  to  see  that  we  are 
being  shown  that  this  is  the  king  of  the  last  days 
by  whom  God  will  finish  the  outpouring  of  His 
indignation  upon  the  finally  and  pre-eminently 
impenitent  transgressors  of  His  people  Israel. 

The  Apostate  Jews'  Anti-Messiah. — ^Note 


126  THE  BOOK  OF  DANIEL 

the  unparalleled,  mysterious  might  of  this  king: 
*'His  power  shall  be  mighty,  but  not  by  his  own 
power"  (vs.  24).  This  means  super-human 
power,  and  it  can  be  none  other  than  Satan's. 
Later  Scriptures  emphasize  and  confirm  this. 
^^Whose  coming  is  after  the  working  of  Satan 
with  all  power  and  signs  and  lying  wonders,  and 
with  all  deceivableness"  (2  Thess.  2:  9,  10). 
"And  the  dragon  gave  him  his  power,  and  his  seat, 
and  great  authority"  (Rev.  13:  2).  This  power 
is  represented  by  the  interpreting  angel  as  being 
used  to  ''destroy  wonderfully" — not  only  gener- 
ally, but  in  particular  to  "destroy  the  mighty  and 
the  holy  people,"  the  Jews  (vs.  24).  Verse  25 
goes  on  to  explain  how  he  shall  accomplish  his 
malignant  ends  by  diabolical  diplomacy,  crafti- 
ness, self-exaltation  and  deception.  His  rank 
effrontery  is  described  as  rising  to  the  degree  of 
defying  the  Prince  of  princes  to  come  into  His 
own.  These  traits  and  practices  are  often  reiter- 
ated in  later  testimonies  of  God's  Word;  e.  g.. 
Matt.  24:  21,  22;  Rev.  13:  5,  7.  Leeser  trans- 
lates the  latter  part  of  verse  23,  "there  will  arise 
a  king  of  impudent  face,  and  understanding  deep 
schemes." 

"But  he  shall  be  broken  without  hand,"  i.  e., 
"without  a  human  hand"  (Leeser).  "Whom  the 
Lord  shall  consume  with  the  spirit  of  His  mouth, 
and  shall  destroy  with  the  brightness  of  His  com- 
ing" (2  Thes.  2:  8).  He  "goeth  into  perdition" 
(Rev.  17:  11).  "And  the  beast  was  taken,  and 
with  him  the  false  prophet  that  wrought  miracles 


THE  RAM  AND  THE  HE-GOAT     127 

before  him,  with  which  he  deceived  them  that  had 
received  the  mark  of  the  beast,  and  them  that  wor- 
shipped his  image.  These  both  were  cast  alive 
into  a  lake  of  fire  burning  with  brimstone"  (Rev. 
19:  20). 

2.  Confirmation  of  Special  Vision,  vs.  26. 

26  And  the  vision  of  the  evening  and  the  morning  which 
was  told  is  true:  wherefore  shut  thou  up  the  vision;  for  it 
shall  be  for  many  days. 

This  verse  refers  entirely  to  what  was  told  Dan- 
iel in  verse  14.  The  rendering  of  the  R.  V.  makes 
this  clear:  *'And  he  said  unto  me,  Unto  two 
thousand  and  three  hundred  evenings  and  morn- 
ings; then  shall  the  sanctuary  be  cleansed"  (vs. 
14).  *'And  the  vision  of  the  evenings  and  morn- 
ings which  hath  been  told  is  true:  but  shut  thou 
up  the  vision:  for  it  belongeth  to  many  days  to 
come"  (vs.  26).  The  interpretation  of  the  main 
vision  closed  with  the  Antichrist's  end  (vs.  25). 
Verse  26  adds  only  that  what  had  been  told  as  to 
the  length  of  time  from  the  giving  over  of  sanctu- 
ary and  people  to  the  full  vengeance  of  the 
Antichrist  unto  the  cleansing,  or  vindication,  of 
the  sanctuary — six  years,  four  months  and  twenty 
days — is  true;  but  that  it  is  to  be  shut  up  from 
fulfilment  for  "many  days  to  come." 

CONCLUSION— Vs.  27. 

27  And  I  Daniel  fainted,  and  was  sick  certain  days; 
afterward  I  rose  up,  and  did  the  king's  business;  and  I  was 
astonished  at  the  vision,  but  none  understood  it. 


128  THE  BOOK  OF  DANIEL 

Here  again,  we  see  a  man  who  had  a  personal 
sympathy  with  all  these  disclosures  of  the  woes 
coming  to  his  transgressing  people.  It  is  a  sym- 
pathy so  keen  and  almost  crushing  as  to  call  upon 
us  also  to  regard  the  disclosures  with  heartfelt  awe 
and  humility.  Daniel's  last  words,  "I  was  aston- 
ished at  the  vision,  but  none  understood  it,"  might 
confuse  us  at  first;  as  though  the  vision  had  been 
left  unintelligible,  at  least  to  all  but  himself.  But 
we  may  construe  it  that  none  understood  why  he 
should  be  so  affected.  It  can  be  easily  under- 
stood from  Leeser's  translation:  "I  was  de- 
pressed because  of  the  appearance :  but  no  one  ob- 
served it."  This  harmonizes  with  the  previous 
words,  'T  rose  up,  and  did  the  king's  business." 

What  profound  revelations  of  both  the  immedi- 
ate and  the  far  distant  future  Daniel  carried 
locked  up  in  his  bosom  as  he  faithfully  continued 
to  fulfil  his  duties  of  State  at  Belshazzar's  corrupt 
and  tottering  court!  With  what  a  vision  he 
looked  about  upon  captive,  dispersed  Israel! 
What  solemn  effect  these  things  are  calculated  to 
produce  upon  our  hearts  and  minds  as  we  look 
upon  that  imperial  territory  under  its  present  con- 
ditions [1914-1917]:  flooded  with  rivers  of 
blood ;  insensate  with  the  frenzy  of  reckless,  ruth- 
less ambition;  Jew  pitted  at  bayonet's  point 
against  Jew — all  for  naught  to  them  but  as  a  part 
of  ''the  indignation"!  How  thankful  we  should 
be  for  the  "light  in  a  dark  place"  like  this! 

We  conclude  the  chapter  by  lining  up  its  vision 
with  the  previous  distinctive  portions  of  the  com- 


THE  RAM  AND  THE  HE-GOAT     129 

posite  revelation  of  this  book  of  increasing  won- 
ders. As  we  have  already  remarked,  Nebuchad- 
nezzar's dream  was  given  to  disclose  the  coming  of 
the  kingdom  of  heaven  upon  earth  in  succession 
to  the  Times  of  the  Gentiles — the  times  of  Gentile 
supremacy  over  transgressing,  disowned  Israel. 
Daniel's  first  vision,  that  of  the  four  beasts,  was 
given  to  show  that  that  earthly  theocracy  was  to 
be,  of  all  the  nations  of  the  earth,  the  exclusive, 
direct  inheritance  of  Israel — when  her  Messiah, 
the  Son  of  Man,  should  come  into  world-wide  do- 
minion. This  last  vision  was  given,  as  we  have 
now  seen,  to  show  through  what  final  tribulation 
at  the  hands  of  the  ''little  horn"  (the  same  in  both 
chapters,  7  and  8)  the  Jews  should  at  last  be 
brought  into  the  kingdom. 


IX 

VISION  OF  THE  SEVENTY  WEEKS 

1  In  the  first  year  of  Darius  the  son  of  Ahasuerus,  of 
the  seed  of  the  Medes,  which  was  made  king  over  the  realm 
of  the  Chaldeans ;  2  In  the  first  year  of  his  reign  I  Daniel 
understood  by  books  the  number  of  the  years,  whereof  the 
word  of  the  Lord  came  to  Jeremiah  the  prophet,  that  he 
would  accomplish  seventy  years  in  the  desolations  of 
Jerusalem. 

The  Faithful  Watchman. — Darius  began 
to  reign  in  538  B.  C.  His  "first  year"  would  run 
well  over  into  537  B.  C.  Daniel  was  then  about 
88  years  old  probably.  We  should  remember  that 
Darius  had  given  him  the  highest  place  in  the  gov- 
ernment as  President  of  the  Triumvirate  under 
which  the  princes  of  all  the  one  hundred  and 
twenty  provinces  were  subordinated.  Darius,  we 
also  remember,  had  it  in  mind  to  make  Daniel  ex- 
clusive Minister  of  State.  The  incident  of  the 
lions'  den  may  have  already  occurred.  What  a 
time  of  crowded,  critical  concerns  and  events! 
Yet,  notwithstanding  his  high  position,  his  great 
responsibility  and  pressing  duties — duties  so 
promptly,  conscientiously  and  efficiently  per- 
formed that  the  most  envious  enemies  could  ferret 
out  no  delinquency  or  defect — yea,  in  spite  of  ex- 
treme peril  to  his  position  and  to  his  person,  Dan- 
iel swerved  not  from  consistently  seeking  first  the 

130 


VISION  OF  THE  SEVENTY  W^EEKS     131 

kingdom  of  God  and  His  righteousness.  Prayer 
was  his  first  business.  Thrice  daily  he  repaired 
to  his  chamber  for  worship  and  supplication,  with 
his  windows  open  toward  Jerusalem.  From  every 
fresh  perusal  of  Scripture  he  looked  Jerusalem- 
ward  and  directed  his  prayer  unto  God.  This 
made  him  a  "man  of  his  times"  in  the  only  true 
sense,  which  is  that  of  a  man  who  regards  and 
serves  his  times  from  the  heavenly  and  the  dis- 
pensational  standpoint.  And  it  was  just  this  that 
made  him  the  best  kind  of  man  of  daily  affairs. 

Now,  to  this  watchman  most  important  "signs 
of  the  times"  were  appearing  in  swift  succession 
and  in  accumulating  number  and  impressivene'ss. 
Babylon  had  already  fallen  and  her  stubborn 
grasp  of  the  Jews  was  broken.  Down  to  the  most 
minute  particulars  extended  prophecies  were  ful- 
filled in  this  great  event.  The  Medes,  whom 
prophecy  had  expressly  named  as  the  destroyers 
of  Babylon,  now  held  the  imperial  scepter. 
Prophecy  related  these  mutations  of  imperial  his- 
tory to  the  return  of  the  Jews  from  the  seventy 
years'  captivity.  This  was  the  eve  of  the  seven- 
tieth year.  Moreover,  Cyrus,  who  so  ahly  com- 
manded the  allied  armies  of  Medes  and  Persians 
in  overthrowing  Babylon,  was  the  very  one  who, 
as  God  had  by  name  foretold  through  Isaiah  (44: 
29;  45:  1),  should  release  the  exiles. 

The  Call  to  Prayer. — "Watch  and  pray"  is 
God's  rule  always.  The  appearing  of  the  striking 
signs  of  a  predicted  event,  so  far  from  leading  the 
watchful  servant  of  God  to  assume  that  the  event 


132  THE  BOOK  OF  DANIEL 

will  automatically  transpire  without  prayer  to 
heaven,  calls  him  to  the  more  extraordinary  en- 
gagement in  prayer.  God's  promises  are  not  only 
not  automatic  in  fulfilment,  they  are  not  even  un- 
conditional. The  exiling  of  the  Jews  was  for 
causes  explicitly  stated  by  God ;  it  was  effected  at 
His  appointed  time  and  by  His  chosen  instru- 
ments ;  it  was  ordained  by  Him  for  a  definite  du- 
ration and  purpose.  Likewise,  the  restoration 
was  contemplated  and  predicted  by  God  from  the 
beginning;  the  conditions,  political,  instrumental 
and  spiritual  which  should  bring  it  about,  were 
foreknown  and  foreshown  by  Him.  Divine  tes- 
timony on  these  points  is  illustrated  by  the  follow- 
ing citations  from  Isaiah  and  Jeremiah : 

Who  gave  Jacob  for  a  spoil  and  Israel  to  the  robbers? 
did  not  the  Lord,  he  against  whom  we  have  sinned?  for 
they  would  not  walk  in  his  ways,  neither  were  they  obedient 
unto  his  law.  Therefore  he  hath  poured  upon  him  the 
fury  of  his  anger. — Is.  42:  24,  25. 

Thus  saith  the  Lord,  your  Redeemer,  the  Holy  One  of 
Israel:  For  your  sake  I  have  sent  to  Babylon,  and  have 
brought  down  all  their  nobles,  and  the  Chaldeans,  whose 
cry  is  in  the  ships.  I  am  the  Lord,  your  Holy  One,  the 
Creator  of  Israel,  your  King. — Is.  43:  14,  15. 

For  my  name's  sake  will  I  defer  mine  anger,  and  for 
my  praise  will  I  refrain  for  thee,  that  I  cut  thee  not  off. 
Behold,  I  have  refined  thee,  but  not  with  silver:  I  haye 
chosen  thee  in  the  furnace  of  affliction.  For  mine  own 
sake,  even  for  mine  own  sake,  will  I  do  it :  for  how  should 
my  name  be  polluted?  and  I  will  not  give  my  glory  unto 
another.— Is.  48:  9-11. 

Israel  is  a  scattered  sheep;  the  lions  have  driven  him 
away:  first  the  king  of  Assyria  hath  devoured  him:  and 


VISION  OF  THE  SEVENTY  WEEKS     133 

last  this  Nebuchadnezzar  king  of  Babylon  hath  broken  his 
bones.  Therefore  thus  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts,  the  God  of 
Israel:  Behold,  I  will  punish  the  king  of  Babylon  and  his 
land,  as  I  have  punished  the  king  of  Assyria.  And  I  will 
bring  Israel  again  to  his  habitation,  and  he  shall  feed  on 
Carmel  and  Bashan,  and  his  soul  shall  be  satisfied  upon 
mount  Ephraim  and  Gilead.  In  those  days,  and  in  that 
time,  saith  the  Lord,  the  iniquity  of  Israel  shall  be  sought 
for,  and  there  shall  be  none;  and  the  sins  of  Judah,  and 
they  shall  not  be  found:  for  I  will  pardon  them  whom  I 
reserve. — Jer.  49:  17-20. 

But  God's  law  of  working  out  His  ways  is  thus 
expressed  in  Ezekiel  36:  37 : 

Thus  saith  the  Lord  God;  I  will  yet  be  inquired  of  by 
the  house  of  Israel,  to  do  it  for  them;  I  will  increase  them 
with  men  like  a  flock. 

Therefore,  penitent  supplication  was  to  be  a  neces- 
sary spiritual  condition  of  restoration  from  Baby- 
lonian exile.     See  Jeremiah  50:  4,  5,  20: 

In  those  days,  and  in  that  time,  saith  the  Lord,  the 
children  of  Israel  shall  come,  they  and  the  children  of 
Judah  together,  going  and  weeping ;  they  shall  go,  and  seek 
the  Lord  their  God.  They  shall  ask  the  way  to  Zion  with 
their  faces  thitherward,  saying,  Come,  let  us  join  ourselves 
to  the  Lord  in  a  perpetual  covenant  that  shall  not  be  for- 
gotten. In  those  days,  and  in  that  time,  saith  the  Lord, 
the  iniquity  of  Israel  shall  be  sought  for,  and  there  shall 
be  none;  and  the  sins  of  Judah,  and  they  shall  not  be 
found :  for  I  will  pardon  them  whom  I  reserve. 

Now  Daniel  was  the  last  man  to  be  slack  in  these 
prayer-laws  of  His  God. 

3  And  I  set  my  face  unto  the  Lord  God,  to  seek  by  prayer 
and  supplications,  with  fasting,  and  sackcloth,  and  ashes: 


134  THE  BOOK  OF  DANIEL 

4  And  I  prayed  unto  the  Lord  my  God,  and  made  my  con- 
fession, and  said,  O  Lord,  the  great  and  dreadful  God, 
keeping  the  covenant  and  mercy  to  them  that  love  him,  and 
to  them  that  keep  his  commandments;  5  We  have  sinned, 
and  have  committed  iniquity,  and  have  done  wickedly,  and 
have  rebelled,  even  by  departing  from  thy  precepts  and 
from  thy  judgments :  6  Neither  have  we  hearkened  unto 
thy  servants  the  prophets,  which  spake  in  thy  name  to  our 
kings,  our  princes,  and  our  fathers,  and  to  all  the  people 
of  the  land.  7  O  Lord,  righteousness  belongeth  unto  thee, 
but  unto  us  confusion  of  faces,  as  at  this  day;  to  the  men 
of  Judah,  and  to  the  inhabitants  of  Jerusalem,  and  unto  all 
Israel,  that  are  near,  and  that  are  far  off,  through  all  the 
countries  whither  thou  hast  driven  them,  because  of  their 
trespass  that  they  have  trespassed  against  thee.  8  O  Lord 
to  us  belongeth  confusion  of  face,  to  our  kings,  to  our 
princes,  and  to  our  fathers,  because  we  have  sinned  against 
thee.  9  To  the  Lord  our  God  belong  mercies  and  for- 
giveness, though  we  have  rebelled  against  him;  10  Neither 
have  we  obeyed  the  voice  of  the  Lord  our  God,  to  walk  in 
his  laws,  which  he  set  before  us  by  his  servants  the  proph- 
ets. 11  Yea,  all  Israel  have  transgressed  thy  law,  even  by 
departing,  that  they  might  not  obey  thy  voice ;  therefore  the 
curse  is  poured  upon  us,  and  the  oath  that  is  written  in 
the  law  of  Moses  the  servant  of  God,  because  we  have 
sinned  against  him.  1 2  And  he  hath  confirmed  his  words, 
which  he  spake  against  us,  and  against  our  judges  that 
judged  us,  by  bringing  upon  us  a  great  evil :  for  under  the 
whole  heaven  hath  not  been  done  as  hath  been  done  upon 
Jerusalem.  13  As  it  is  written  in  the  law  of  Moses,  all 
this  evil  is  come  upon  us :  yet  made  we  not  our  prayer  be- 
fore the  Lord  our  God,  that  we  might  turn  from  our  iniqui- 
ties, and  understand  thy  truth.  14  Therefore  hath  the 
Lord  watched  upon  the  evil,  and  brought  it  upon  us;  for 
the  Lord  our  God  is  righteous  in  all  his  works  which  he 
doeth:  for  we  obeyed  not  his  voice.  15  And  now,  O  Lord 
our  God,  that  hast  brought  thy  people  forth  out  of  the  land 
of  Egypt  with  a  mighty  hand,  and  hast  gotten  thee  renown, 
as  at  this  day;  we  have  sinned  and  done  wickedly.     16  O 


VISION  OF  THE  SEVENTY  WEEKS     135 

Lord,  according  to  all  thy  righteousness,  I  beseech  thee,  let 
thine  anger  and  thy  fury  be  turned  away  from  thy  city 
Jerusalem,  thy  holy  mountain:  because  for  our  sins,  and 
for  the  iniquities  of  our  fathers,  Jerusalem  and  thy  people 
are  become  a  reproach  to  all  that  are  about  us.  17  Now 
therefore,  O  our  God,  hear  the  prayer  of  thy  servant,  and 
his  supplications,  and  cause  thy  face  to  shine  upon  thy 
sanctuary  that  is  desolate,  for  the  Lord's  sake.  18  O  my 
God,  incline  thine  ear,  and  hear;  open  thine  eyes,  and  be- 
hold our  desolations,  and  the  city  which  is  called  by  thy 
name :  for  we  do  not  present  our  supplications  before  thee 
for  our  righteousness,  but  for  thy  great  mercies.  19  O 
Lord,  hear;  O  Lord,  forgive;  O  Lord,  hearken  and  do; 
defer  not,  for  thine  own  sake,  O  my  God :  for  thy  city  and 
thy  people  are  called  by  thy  name. 

Daniel's  Prayer  of  Importunity. — Daniel 
was  led  to  this  prayer  by  the  signs  of  the  times  in 
the  light  of  God's  Word;  and  certainly  Daniel's 
prayer  was  itself  the  most  striking  spiritual  sign 
of  that  time  of  impending  restoration. 

Daniel's  Importunity. — This  was  shown  by 
the  manner  as  well  as  the  matter  of  his  prayer. 
Every  word  of  verse  3  impressively  testifies  to 
this.  See  this  aged  and  experienced  intercessor 
and  prayer-warrior  setting  his  face  unto  the  Lord ! 
"Enter  into  thy  closet,  and  when  thou  hast  shut 
thy  door,  pray."  'To  seek."  'What  wilt  thou 
that  I  shall  do  unto  thee?"  is  the  Lord's  challenge 
to  this  determined  approach.  Then,  four  degrees 
of  progressive  intensity  are  indicated  by — 
"prayer"  (general  address),  "supplications" 
(pressing  entreaties),  "with  fasting"  (letting  go 
of  physical  necessities),  "and  sackcloth,  and 
ashes"  (expressing  utter  unworthiness  and  need). 


136  THE  BOOK  OF  DANIEL 

Daniel's  Confession. — He  ascribed  to  God 
supreme  greatness  and  perfect  fidelity  to  His  cove- 
nant of  mercy  toward  the  obedient  (vs.  4)  ;  and  he 
made  confession  of  his  people's  extreme  contrari- 
ness toward  God  and  His  Word  (vs.  5),  and  to- 
ward the  prophets  (vs.  6).  He  acknowledged  the 
ill-desert  of  all  classes  (vss.  7,  8)  in  flouting  God's 
longsufferings  (vss.  9,  10)  and  in  compelling  Him 
to  pour  out  upon  them  the  curse  which  He  had 
long  before  threatened  (vss.  11-14).  The  full 
force  of  this  confession  can  be  felt  only  by  a  fresh 
reading  of  the  Mosaic  Scriptures  to  which  Daniel 
refers,  especially  Lev.  26  and  Deut.  28-30.  A 
few  fragments  as  samples  may  be  quoted : 

If  ye  walk  in  my  statutes,  and  keep  my  commandments, 
and  do  them;  ...  I  will  set  my  tabernacle  among  you: 
and  my  soul  shall  not  abhor  you.  And  I  will  walk  among 
you,  and  will  be  your  God,  and  ye  shall  be  my  people. 
But  if  ye  will  not  hearken  unto  me,  and  will  not  do  all 
these  commandments;  ...  I  will  set  my  face  against  you, 
and  ye  shall  be  slain  before  your  enemies;  they  that  hate 
you  shall  reign  over  you,  and  ye  shall  flee  when  none  pur- 
sueth  you.  And  if  ye  will  not  for  all  this  hearken  unto 
me,  then  I  will  punish  you  seven  times  more  for  your  sins. 
.  .  .  And  ye  shall  perish  among  the  heathen,  and  the  land 
of  your  enemies  shall  eat  you  up.  And  yet  for  all  that, 
when  they  be  in  the  land  of  their  enemies,  I  will  not  cast 
them  away,  neither  will  I  abhor  them,  to  destroy  them 
utterly,  and  to  break  my  covenant  with  them :  for  I  am  the 
Lord  their  God.— Lev.  26:  3,  11,  12,  14,  17,  18,  3S,  44. 

And  it  shall  come  to  pass,  that  as  the  Lord  rejoiced  over 
you  to  do  you  good,  and  to  multiply  you;  so  the  Lord  will 
rejoice  over  you  to  destroy  you  and  to  bring  you  to  nought; 
and  ye  shall  be  plucked  from  off  the  land  whither  thou 


VISION  OF  THE  SEVENTY  WEEKS     137 

goest  to  possess  it.  And  the  Lord  shall  scatter  thee  among 
all  people  from  the  one  end  of  the  earth  even  unto  the 
other;  and  there  thou  shalt  serve  other  gods,  which  neither 
thou  nor  thy  fathers  have  known,  even  wood  and  stone. — 
Deut.  28:63,64. 

And  it  shall  come  to  pass,  when  all  these  things  are  come 
upon  thee,  the  blessing  and  the  curse,  which  I  have  set 
before  thee,  and  thou  shalt  call  them  to  mind  among  all  the 
nations  whither  the  Lord  thy  God  hath  driven  thee,  and 
shalt  return  unto  the  Lord  thy  God,  and  shalt  obey  his 
voice  according  to  all  that  I  command  thee  this  day,  thou 
and  thy  children,  with  all  thine  heart,  and  with  all  thy 
soul;  that  then  the  Lord  thy  God  will  turn  thy  captivity, 
and  have  compassion  upon  thee,  and  will  return  and  gather 
thee  from  all  the  nations  whither  the  Lord  thy  God  hath 
scattered  thee.  ...  I  call  heaven  and  earth  to  record  this 
day  against  you,  that  I  have  set  before  you  life  and  death, 
blessing  and  cursing:  therefore  choose  life,  that  both  thou 
and  thy  seed  may  live :  that  thou  makest  love  the  Lord  thy 
God,  and  that  thou  mayest  obey  his  voice,  and  that  thou 
mayest  cleave  unto  him  (for  he  is  thy  life,  and  the  length 
of  thy  days)  that  thou  mayest  dwell  in  the  land  which  the 
Lord  sware  unto  thy  fathers,  to  Abraham,  to  Isaac,  and  to 
Jacob,  to  give  them. — Deut.  30:  1,  2,  3,  19,  20. 

Daniel's  Supplication. — Upon  concluding 
his  confession  (vs.  15),  Daniel  makes  his  people's 
awful  misery  the  basis  of  fervent,  effectual  appeal 
to  God  for  righteous  relenting  of  anger  and  for  the 
return  of  His  smile  (vss.  16,  17).  Waiving  all 
consideration  of  "our  righteousness,"  he  moves 
upon  the  divine  reason  and  feeling  by  pleading — 
''Thy  city  Jerusalem";  ''Thy  holy  mountain"; 
"Thy  sanctuary";  "the  city  which  is  called  by 
Thy  name";  "Thy  city  and  Thy  people — called 
by  Thy  Name";  "Thy  people  are  become  a  re- 
proach to  all  that  are  about  us";  "For  the  Lord's 


138  THE  BOOK  OF  DANIEL 

sake";  "Incline  thine  ear,  and  hear;  open  Thine 
eyes,  and  behold";  "O  Lord,  hear;  O  Lord, 
hearken  and  do;  defer  not,  for  Thine  own  sake, 
O  my  God." 

20  And  while  I  was  speaking,  and  praying,  and  con- 
fessing my  sin  and  the  sin  of  my  people  Israel,  and  pre- 
senting my  supplication  before  the  Lord  my  God  for  the 
holy  mountain  of  my  God:  21  Yea,  while  I  was  speaking 
in  prayer,  even  the  man  Gabriel,  whom  I  had  seen  in  the 
vision  at  the  beginning,  being  caused  to  fly  swiftly,  touched 
me  about  the  time  of  the  evening  oblation.  22  And  he  in- 
formed me,  and  talked  with  me,  and  said,  O  Daniel,  I  am 
now  come  forth  to  give  thee  skill  and  understanding.  23 
At  the  beginning  of  thy  supplications  the  commandment 
came  forth,  and  I  am  come  to  shew  thee;  for  thou  art 
greatly  beloved :  therefore  understand  the  matter,  and  con- 
sider the  vision. 

The  Appearing  of  Gabriel  to  Daniel. — 
While  Daniel  was  still  engaged  in  his  extraordi- 
nary exercises  of  prayer,  confession  and  supplica- 
tion, the  angel  Gabriel  came  nigh  to  him  at  about 
the  ninth  hour  of  the  day  (three  o'clock),  the  time 
so  sacred  as  the  hour  of  the  evening  burnt  offering 
in  the  temple.  Special  remark  is  made  upon  the 
angel's  arrival  by  a  swift  flight.  Notice  in  pass- 
ing that  he  is  called  ^'the  man  Gabriel."  In 
8:  15,  16  likewise,  the  appearance  and  the  voice 
of  the  celestial  person  there  introduced  are  de- 
scribed as  human.  It  is  commonly  represented 
in  Scripture  that  angels,  when  they  appear  to 
men,  do  so  in  human  likeness. 

The  language  of  verse  21,  "Gabriel,  whom  I 
had  seen  in  the  vision  at  the  beginning,"  excites 


VISION  OF  THE  SEVENTY  WEEKS     139 

the  question  whether  reference  is  made  to  the  ap- 
pearance of  Gabriel  to  Daniel  which  is  recorded  in 
chapter  8,  or  whether  it  is  implied  that  Daniel  had 
had  a  vision  at  the  beginning  of  this  prayer-sea- 
son, in  which  vision  Gabriel  had  been  seen  by  him. 
Certainly  the  language  itself  entirely  favors  the 
latter  explanation.  This  is  strongly  corroborated 
by  Gabriel's  own  words  to  Daniel  in  verses  22,  23 
— especially  the  last  words  of  verse  23:  ''There- 
fore understand  the  matter,  and  consider  the  vi- 
sion," or  "Consider  the  matter  and  understand 
the  vision"  (R.  V.).  The  words  "Understand  the 
vision"  clearly  refer  to  what  immediately  follows 
in  the  last  verses  of  the  chapter.  It  seems  clear, 
then,  that  when  Daniel  began  this  waiting  upon 
God  in  such  an  extraordinary  way  a  new  vision 
appeared  to  him,  of  which  the  paragraph  consist- 
ing of  verses  24-27  and  relating  to  the  "Seventy 
Weeks"  is  the  interpretation.  The  vision  itself 
is  not  described.  It  seems  to  have  disappeared, 
while  Daniel  went  on  to  accomplish  his  work  of 
confession  and  of  entreating  God  to  cause  His  face 
to  shine  anew  upon  His  sanctuary.  Gabriel 
states,  however,  that  the  divine  message  which 
he  had  flown  so  swiftly  to  bring  to  Daniel  had 
been  given  when  Daniel  first  began  his  supplica- 
tions. 

There  is  much  force  in  the  language  of  verse  22, 
especially  as  rendered  by  the  R.  V. :  "And  he  in- 
structed me,  and  talked  with  me,  and  said,  O 
Daniel,  I  am  now  come  forth  to  make  thee  skilful 
of  understanding,"  or  "intelligent  with  under- 


140  THE  BOOK  OF  DANIEL 

standing"  (Leeser).  The  point  apparently  is 
that  Daniel,  even  Daniel,  and  he  with  all  the  aid 
of  existing  prophecies — even  with  Jeremiah's  ex- 
plicit prediction  that  the  Lord  "would  accomplish 
seventy  years  in  the  desolations  of  Jerusalem" — 
was  still  interceding  before  God  in  his  people's 
interest  with  seriously  imperfect  understanding. 
This  very  time,  when  the  restoration  from  the 
plainly  predicted  seventy  years'  Babylonian  cap- 
tivity was  almost  due,  was  just  the  hour  for  a  simi- 
lar chronological  disclosure  of  great  epochs  and 
time-measurements  in  Jewish  history  yet  to  trans- 
pire, before  the  perfect  restoration  and  consum- 
mation for  which  Daniel  sighed  could  be  realized. 

24  Seventy  weeks  are  determined  upon  thy  people  and 
upon  thy  holy  city,  to  finish  the  transgression,  and  to  make 
an  end  of  sins,  and  to  make  reconciliation  for  iniquity,  and 
to  bring  in  everlasting  righteousness,  and  to  seal  up  the 
vision  and  prophecy,  and  to  anoint  the  Most  Holy. 

The  Disclosure  of  the  Seventy  Weeks. — 
This  new  chronological  forecast  of  Jewish  history 
was  evidently  projected  upon  the  back-ground  of 
the  initial  period  of  the  Times  of  the  Gentiles — 
the  Seventy  Years'  Captivity  with  which  Daniel 
was  being  so  deeply  occupied.  The  emphasis  of 
the  opening  words  of  verse  24  is  to  be  drawn  from 
the  contrast  between  the  epoch  then  just  expiring 
and  the  epochs  yet  to  come  before  all  that  Daniel 
may  have  been  including  in  his  fervent  supplica- 
tions could  be  brought  to  pass.  As  if  Gabriel  had 
said:  '^Not,  O  Daniel,  these  seventy  years,  but  yet 


VISION  OF  THE  SEVENTY  W^EEKS     141 

seventy  weeks  of  years  are  determined"  etc.  The 
term  ^'weeks''  is  simply  a  sacred  multiplier  to  sev- 
enty as  the  multiplicand  already  familiar;  as  if 
Gabriel  had  said  seventy  sevens  of  years,  or  seven 
times  seventy  years.  Here  is  as  definite  a  fore- 
cast of  490  remaining  years  as  was  Jeremiah's 
prediction  of  the  seventy  years  just  closing.  We 
are  to  treat  the  one  just  as  literally  as  we  are  ac- 
customed to  treat  the  other. 

The  Objective  of  the  Seventy  Weeks. — 
The  cluster  of  happy  consummations  listed  in 
verse  24  constitutes  the  new  distinctive  portion  of 
the  composite  revelation  of  the  hook.  Let  us  par- 
aphrase the  verse.  ^' Seven  times  seventy  years 
more  are  pre-determined  of  God,  O  Daniel,  upon 
thy  people,  the  Jews,  and  upon  thy  city,  Jerusa- 
lem: to  bring  Israel  to  the  close  of  her  career  of 
stiff-necked  transgression;  to  effect  an  ending  of 
all  her  besetting  sins ;  to  purge  out  of  her  effectu- 
ally her  'bent  to  backsliding' ;  to  bring  all  her  chil- 
dren into  everlasting  righteousness;  to  fulfil  ex- 
haustively all  the  contents  of  vision  and  prophecy 
relative  to  her  ultimate  restoration ;  and  to  anoint 
the  Most  Holy  Place  of  her  final  and  inviolable 
worship." 

This  to  Daniel  was  certainly  all  that  his  heart 
panted  after,  the  ' 'exceedingly  abundantly  above 
all  that  we  can  ask  or  think."  Yet  it  was  no 
more  than  ''vision  and  prophecy"  had  already 
promised,  only  all  had  not  been  anywhere  sum- 
marized so  comprehensively  and  strikingly. 
Isaiah,  Jeremiah,  Ezekiel,  as  well  as  David,  scin- 


142  THE  BOOK  OF  DANIEL 

tillate  with  flashes  of  this  coming  light  of  stainless 
purity  and  glory.     A  few  samples  may  be  cited. 

Thy  sun  shall  no  more  go  down ;  neither  shall  thy  moon 
withdraw  itself:  for  the  Lord  shall  be  thine  everlasting 
light,  and  the  days  of  thy  mourning  shall  be  ended.  Thy 
people  also  shall  be  all  righteous:  they  shall  inherit  the 
land  forever,  the  branch  of  my  planting,  the  work  of  my 
hands,  that  I  may  be  glorified.  .  .  .  For  as  the  earth 
bringeth  forth  her  bud,  and  as  the  garden  causeth  the 
things  that  are  sown  in  it  to  spring  forth;  so  the  Lord 
God  will  cause  righteousness  and  praise  to  spring  forth 
before  all  the  nations.  .  .  .  And  the  Gentiles  shall  see 
thy  righteousness,  and  all  kings  thy  glory:  and  thou  shalt 
be  called  by  a  new  name,  which  the  mouth  of  the  Lord 
shall  name.  And  they  shall  call  them,  The  holy  people. 
The  redeemed  of  the  Lord:  and  thou  shalt  be  called. 
Sought  out,  a  city  not  forsaken. — Is.  60:21;  61:11; 
62:2,  12. 

For  I  will  restore  health  unto  thee,  and  I  will  heal  thee 
of  thy  wounds,  saith  the  Lord;  because  they  called  thee 
an  Outcast,  saying,  This  is  Zion,  whom  no  man  seeketh 
after.  .  .  .  And  I  will  satiate  the  soul  of  the  priests  with 
fatness,  and  my  people  shall  be  satisfied  with  my  good- 
ness, saith  the  Lord.  Thus  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts,  the 
God  of  Israel ;  As  yet  they  shall  use  this  speech  in  the  land 
of  Judah  and  in  the  cities  thereof,  when  I  shall  bring 
again  their  captivity;  The  Lord  bless  thee,  O  habitation 
of  justice,  and  mountain  of  holiness.  But  this  shall  be 
the  covenant  that  I  will  make  with  the  house  of  Israel; 
after  those  days,  saith  the  Lord,  I  will  put  my  law  in  their 
inward  parts,  and  write  it  in  their  hearts;  and  will  be  their 
God,  and  they  shall  be  my  people.  And  they  shall  teach 
no  more  every  man  his  neighbor,  and  every  man  his  brother, 
saying,  Know  the  Lord :  for  they  shall  all  know  me,  from 
the  least  of  them  unto  the  greatest  of  them,  saith  the  Lord: 
for  I  will  forgive  their  iniquity,  and  I  will  remember  their 
sin  no  more.— Jer.  30:  17;  31:  14,  23,  33,  34. 


VISION  OF  THE  SEVENTY  WEEKS     143 

And  I  will  sanctify  my  great  name,  which  was  profaned 
among  the  heathen,  which  ye  have  profaned  in  the  midst 
of  them;  and  the  heathen  shall  know  that  I  am  the  Lord, 
saith  the  Lord  God,  when  I  shall  be  sanctified  in  you  be- 
fore their  eyes.  For  I  will  take  you  from  among  the 
heathen,  and  gather  you  out  of  all  countries,  and  will 
bring  you  into  your  own  land.  Then  will  I  sprinkle  clean 
water  upon  you,  and  ye  shall  be  clean:  from  all  your  filthi- 
ness,  and  from  all  your  idols,  will  I  cleanse  you.  A  new 
heart  also  will  I  give  you,  and  a  new  spirit  will  I  put 
within  you:  and  I  will  take  away  the  stony  heart  out  of 
your  flesh,  and  I  will  give  you  a  heart  of  flesh.  And  I 
will  put  my  spirit  within  you,  and  cause  you  to  walk  in 
my  statutes,  and  ye  shall  keep  my  judgments  and  do  them. 
And  ye  shall  dwell  in  the  land  that  I  gave  to  your  fathers ; 
and  ye  shall  be  my  people,  and  I  will  be  your  God.  My 
tabernacle  also  shall  be  with  them;  yea,  I  will  be  their  God, 
and  they  shall  be  my  people.  And  the  heathen  shall 
know  that  I  the  Lord  do  sanctify  Israel,  when  my  sanc- 
tuary shall  be  in  the  midst  of  them  for  evermore. — Ezek. 
36:  23-28;  37:  27,  28. 

They  shall  fear  thee  as  long  as  the  sun  and  moon  en- 
dure, throughout  all  generations. — Ps.  92:5. 

Increasing  Light. — Let  us  take  note  of  the 
progress  of  light  thus  far.  God  revealed  by  Neb- 
uchadnezzar's dream  that  the  Times  of  the  Gen- 
tiles in  their  supremacy  over  His  Israel  are  to  be 
cut  short  forever  by  the  sudden  arrival  of  the 
Stone-kingdom,  the  Stone  of  Israel's  kingdom — 
the  everlasting  kingdom  from  heaven.  The  vi- 
sion of  the  four  beasts  brought  to  light  that  the 
saints  of  Israel  are  to  stand  in  this  kingdom  from 
above  as  the  paramount  people  of  the  earth;  for 
their  King,  the  Most  High  Son  of  Man,  shall  be 
worshipped  and  obeyed  by  all  earthly  govern- 


144  THE  BOOK  OF  DANIEL 

ments.  The  vision  of  the  ram  and  the  he-goat 
threw  upon  this  glowing  canvas  of  the  last  days 
the  lurid  cloud  of  the  supreme  tribulation  of  ''the 
mighty  and  the  holy  people,"  which  tribulation 
shall  be  executed  by  the  Antichrist  as  the  agent  of 
''the  last  end  of  the  indignation"  of  God,  "when 
the  transgressors  are  come  to  the  full."  The  vi- 
sion OF  THE  SEVENTY  V^EEKS  NOW  SHEDS  FORTH 
THE   "light  after   DARKNESS,"   THE   MERIDIAN 

effulgence  of  spiritual  consummations,  in 
the  righteousness  and  true  holiness  w^hich 
shall  more  signally  characterize  restored 
Israel  than  her  former  flagrant  iniquities 

EVER  DID. 

25  Know  therefore  and  understand,  that  from  the  going 
forth  of  the  commandment  to  restore  and  to  build  Jeru- 
salem unto  the  Messiah  the  Prince  shall  be  seven  weeks, 
and  threescore  and  two  weeks:  the  street  shall  be  built 
again,  and  the  wall,  even  in  troublous  times.  26  And 
after  threescore  and  two  weeks  shall  Messiah  be  cut  off, 
but  not  for  himself :  and  the  people  of  the  prince  that  shall 
come  shall  destroy  the  city  and  the  sanctuary;  and  the  end 
thereof  shall  be  with  a  flood,  and  until  the  end  of  the  war 
desolations  are  determined.  27  And  he  shall  confirm  the 
covenant  with  many  for  one  week :  and  in  the  midst  of  the 
week  he  shall  cause  the  sacrifice  and  the  oblation  to  cease, 
and  for  the  overspreading  of  abominations,  he  shall  make 
it  desolate,  even  until  the  consummation,  and  that  deter- 
mined shall  be  poured  upon  the  desolate. 

Outline  of  the  Seventy  Weeks. — The  fact 
is  at  once  apparent  that  the  seventy  weeks  do  not 
cover  the  entire  time  consecutively  from  the  date 
of  the  vision  to  the  terminal  point  designated  in 


VISION  OF  THE  SEVENTY  WEEKS     145 

verse  24.  This  will  be  the  more  apparent  as  we 
take  up  the  outline  in  its  successive  portions. 

The  Starting  Point. — To  Daniel  the  ''going 
forth  of  the  commandment  to  restore  and  build 
Jerusalem"  (vs.  23)  was  a  matter  for  future  iden- 
tification, when  the  event  itself  should  occur. 
From  our  standpoint  it  becomes  a  matter  of  care- 
ful identification  of  the  right  one  among  several 
imperial  decrees  of  past  history. 

We  first  need  carefully  to  notice  the  exact  im- 
port of  the  decree  itself.  It  was  a  "command- 
ment." This  means  an  imperial  decree,  as  we 
have  already  called  it.  The  object  of  the  edict 
was  "to  restore  and  to  build  Jerusalem."  This 
is  purely  a  material  and  political  object,  with  no 
religious  feature  indicated.  The  last  part  of  verse 
25  clearly  relates  to  this  rebuilding:  "The  street 
shall  be  built  again,  and  the  wall."  This  indi- 
cates both  interior  reconstruction  as  a  well-ordered 
city  and  outward  provision  of  defense.  In  fine, 
it  indicates  the  restoration  of  Jerusalem  to  the  con- 
dition of  an  independent  national  and  political 
capital.  And  the  final  expression,  "even  in 
troublous  times,"  implies  that  such  a  rehabilita- 
tion of  Jerusalem  would  meet  with  bitter  opposi- 
tion from  interested  enemies.  Let  us  seek  for  the 
imperial  decree  which  answers  to  this  description 
precisely. 

The  Edict  of  Cyrus. — In  the  year  536  B.  C, 
Cyrus  the  Persian,  at  once  upon  taking  the  throne 
of  the  new  Medo-Persian  Empire,  issued  a  decree 
of  liberation  to  all  Jews  within  the  Empire,  that 


146  THE  BOOK  OF  DANIEL 

they  might  return  to  Jerusalem.     The  record  is 
found  in  Ezra  1:  1-3. 

Now  in  the  first  year  of  Cyrus  king  of  Persia,  that  the 
word  of  the  Lord  by  the  mouth  of  Jeremiah  might  be  ful- 
filled, the  Lord  stirred  up  the  spirit  of  Cyrus  king  of 
Persia,  that  he  made  a  proclamation  throughout  all  his 
kingdom,  and  put  it  also  in  writing,  saying.  Thus  saith 
Cyrus  king  of  Persia,  The  Lord  God  of  heaven  hath  given 
me  all  the  kingdoms  of  the  earth;  and  he  hath  charged 
me  to  build  him  an  house  at  Jerusalem,  which  is  in  Judah. 
Who  is  there  among  you  of  all  his  people  ?  his  God  be  with 
him,  and  let  him  go  up  to  Jerusalem,  which  is  in  Judah, 
and  build  the  house  of  the  Lord  God  of  Israel,  (he  is  the 
God,)  which  is  in  Jerusalem. 

We  see  that  this  decree  was  confined  to  the 
building  of  "the  house  of  the  Lord  God  of  Israel." 
Cyrus  authorized  nothing  more,  he  claimed  to  be 
charged  by  God  to  do  nothing  more,  and  the  subse- 
quent record  shows  that  the  returning  exiles  at- 
tempted nothing  more.  See  Ezra  6:  15.  This 
cannot,  then,  be  the  decree  that  we  are  looking  for. 

The  First  Decree  or  Artaxerxes. — The 
next  imperial  decree  in  historical  order  was  that 
authorizing  Ezra  to  go  up  to  Jerusalem  on  import- 
ant business.  This  is  found  recorded  in  Ezra  7 ; 
and  it  was  given  to  Ezra  "in  the  seventh  year  of 
the  king,"  Artaxerxes  (vs.  8).  Artaxerxes  reigned 
over  the  Persian  Empire  from  465  to  424  B.  C. 
His  "seventh  year"  was  458  B.  C.,  just  78  years 
from  the  time  when  the  first  immigration  of  ex- 
iles came  to  Jerusalem.  Is  this  the  decree  that 
we  are  looking  for? 

In  the  first  place,  we  notice  that  Ezra  was  a 


VISION  OF  THE  SEVENTY  WEEKS     147 

purely  religious  character.  He  was  ''a  ready 
scribe  in  the  law  of  Moses"  (vs.  6)  and  is  de- 
scribed in  verse  11  as  "Ezra  the  priest,  the  scribe, 
even  the  scribe  of  the  words  of  the  commandment 
of  the  Lord,  and  of  His  statutes  to  Israel."  The 
burden  upon  his  heart  is  described  in  verse  10: 
"For  Ezra  had  prepared  his  heart  to  seek  the  law 
of  the  Lord,  and  to  do  it,  and  to  teach  in  Israel 
statutes  and  judgments."  He  was  not,  then,  the 
man,  by  profession  or  by  the  calling  of  God  in 
his  heart,  for  such  a  building  of  Jerusalem  as  the 
case  before  us  requires. 

Moreover,  the  terms  of  the  king's  commission  to 
Ezra  relate  exclusively  to  such  business  as  ac- 
corded with  Ezra's  character  and  calling.  He 
was  authorized  to  assemble  and  conduct  all  who 
were  "minded  of  their  own  freewill  to  go  up  to 
Jerusalem,"  verse  13.  He  was  entrusted  with 
liberal  offerings  of  silver  and  gold  "from  the  king 
and  his  counsellors,"  besides  all  that  he  could 
"find  in  all  the  province  of  Babylon,"  together 
"with  the  freewill  offering  of  the  people  and  of  the 
priests"  (vss.  15,  16).  But  all  this  was  a  freewill 
offering  "for  the  house  of  their  God  which  is  in 
Jerusalem;"  "that  thou  mayest  buy  speedily  with 
this  money  bullocks,  rams,  lambs,  with  their  meat 
offerings  and  their  drink  offerings,  and  offer  them 
upon  the  altar  of  the  house  of  your  God  which  is 
in  Jerusalem"  (vss.  16,  17).  He  was  also  to  take 
along  vessels  given  him  "for  the  service  of  the 
house  of  thy  God"  (vs.  19).  The  king  also  or- 
dered his  treasurers  in  the  provinces  west  of  the 


148  THE  BOOK  OF  DANIEL 

Euphrates  to  give  Ezra  whatever  assistance  he 
required  ^'for  the  house  of  the  God  of  heaven" 
(vss.  21-23).  Ezra  was  also  authorized  to  ex- 
empt all  "ministers  of  this  house  of  God"  from 
'Holl,  tribute,  or  custom"  (vs.  24).  Ezra  was 
empowered  to  install  in  magisterial  and  judicial 
office  ''all  such  as  know  the  laws  of  thy  God;  and 
teach  ye  them  that  know  them  not"  (vs.  25).  Fi- 
nally he  was  given  right  to  put  all  the  provisions 
of  the  decree  into  force  at  the  penalty  for  refusal 
of  ''death,  .  .  .  banishment,  .  .  .  confiscation  of 
goods,  .  .  .  or  imprisonment"  (vs.  26). 

There  is  nothing  whatever  in  this  decree  to 
identify  it  with  the  one  that  we  are  looking  for. 
This  decree  pertained  altogether  to  the  perfecting 
of  the  religious  system,  that  of  worship  and  of 
jurisprudence,  at  Jerusalem.  And  Ezra's  words 
of  thanksgiving  to  God  for  prospering  his  under- 
taking fully  confirm  this:  "Blessed  be  the  Lord 
God  of  our  fathers,  which  hath  put  such  a  thing 
as  this  in  the  king's  heart,  to  beautify  the  house  of 
the  Lord  which  is  in  Jerusalem"  (vs.  27). 

The  Second  Decree  of  Artaxerxes. — The 
third  decree  with  which  we  are  concerned  is  that 
given  to  Nehemiah  by  Artaxerxes  in  the  twentieth 
year  of  his  reign,  which  would  be  in  the  year  445 
B.  C.  The  account  is  recorded  in  Nehemiah  1 
and  2.  What  is  essential  to  us  just  here  is  con- 
tained in  2 :  4-8. 

Then  the  king  said  unto  me,  For  what  dost  thou  make 
request?     So  I  prayed  to  the  God  of  heaven.     And  I 


VISION  OF  THE  SEVENTY  WEEKS     149 

said  unto  the  king,  If  it  please  the  king,  and  if  thy  ser- 
vant have  found  favor  in  thy  sight,  that  thou  wouldest 
send  me  unto  Judah,  unto  the  city  of  my  father's  sepul- 
chres, that  I  may  build  it.  And  the  king  said  unto  me, 
(the  queen  also  sitting  by  him,)  For  how  long  shall  thy 
journey  be  ?  and  when  wilt  thou  return  ?  So  it  pleased  the 
king  to  send  me;  and  I  set  him  a  time.  Moreover  I  said 
unto  the  king,  If  it  please  the  king,  let  letters  be  given 
me  to  the  governors  beyond  the  river,  that  they  may  con- 
vey me  over  till  I  come  into  Judah;  And  a  letter  unto 
Asaph  the  keeper  of  the  king's  forest,  that  he  may  give 
me  timber  to  make  beams  for  the  gates  of  the  palace  which 
appertaineth  to  the  house,  and  for  the  wall  of  the  city,  and 
for  the  house  that  I  shall  enter  into.  And  the  king 
granted  me,  according  to  the  good  hand  of  my  God  upon 
me. 

We  cannot  fail  to  be  impressed  at  once  that  here 
we  find  the  required  imperial  firman.  There  is 
nothing  in  it  of  the  religious  character  which  ex- 
clusively characterizes  the  other  two ;  but  it  is  ex- 
clusively of  an  engineering  and  political  character, 
which  is  wholly  wanting  in  the  others.  It  is 
just  this  character — this  character  exclusively — 
that  is  required  to  fit  the  case.  The  whole  story 
of  the  building  of  the  walls  of  Jerusalem  by  Nehe- 
miah  agrees  with  this  character  of  the  decree.  As 
an  engineering  work,  the  story  is  too  familiar  to 
require  our  further  attention.  But  in  its  political 
aspect  we  need  to  give  it  close  scrutiny. 

That  Nehemiah's  journey  to  Jerusalem  was  of 
political  purpose  can  be  shown  convincingly  by 
numerous  evidences.  We  note,  first,  the  fact  that 
Nehemiah  was  himself  a  very  high  official  of  the 
empire,  occupying  the  position  of  king's  cupbearer 


150  THE  BOOK  OF  DANIEL 

— the  position  of  closest  intimacy  with  the  king 
and  of  the  king's  highest  trust.  Then,  Nehe- 
miah's  journey  up  to  Jerusalem  was  under  an  im- 
posing escort  from  the  king,  of  "captains  of  the 
army  and  horsemen"  (2:  9).  Again,  a  certain 
neighboring  government  official,  "Sanballat  the 
Horonite,  and  Tobiah  the  servant,  the  Ammonite," 
were  "grieved  .  .  .  exceedingly  that  there  was 
come  a  man  to  seek  the  welfare  of  the  children  of 
Israel,"  verse  10.  Again,  upon  arriving  at  Jeru- 
salem, after  privately  viewing  the  situation  by 
night,  Nehemiah  assembled  the  priests,  nobles  and 
rulers  and  laid  before  them  the  proposition,  "Let 
us  build  up  the  wall  of  Jerusalem,  that  we  be  no 
more  a  reproach"  (vs.  17).  Forthwith  the  politi- 
cal enemies  before  mentioned,  with  "Geshem  the 
Arabian,"  scornfully  inquired,  "What  is  this 
thing  that  ye  do?  Will  ye  rebel  against  the 
king?"  (vs.  19).  After  the  building  operations 
had  actually  begun,  Sanballat,  when  he  heard 
thereof,  was  "wroth,  and  took  great  indignation;" 
and  he  "spake  before  his  brethren  and  the  army 
of  Samaria,  and  said,  What  do  these  feeble  Jews? 
Will  they  fortify  themselves?"  (4:1,2).  When 
the  circuit  of  the  wall  was  reared  one  half  in 
height,  a  still  more  formidable  conspiracy  of  ene- 
mies sought  to  hinder  further  building  by  armed 
force,  but  they  were  circumvented  in  their  pur- 
pose. 

All  this  goes  to  show  that  the  enterprise  was 
intended  to  be  of  an  acknowledged  political  char- 
acter, and  that  it  was  so  understood.     Accordingly 


VISION  OF  THE  SEVENTY  WEEKS     151 

when  the  wall  was  finished  Nehemiah  proceeded 
to  set  everything  in  strong  defensive  order  out- 
wardly and  in  strong  governmental  order  in- 
wardly. It  belonged  thereto,  not  only  to  have  the 
city  well  populated  and  thoroughly  officered,  but 
also  to  revive  and  reform  the  people  thoroughly 
according  to  the  laws  of  Moses.  And  Nehemiah 
took  twelve  years  away  from  the  Persian  court  to 
establish  and  govern  Jerusalem  as  a  city  of  politi- 
cal autonomy. 

For  a  just  comprehension  of  this  political  start- 
ing-point of  the  reckoning  of  the  seventy  weeks  of 
Daniel,  we  need  to  give  special  attention  to  the  sit- 
uation existing  at  Jerusalem  which  urged  Nehe- 
miah to  his  great  undertaking.  This  situation 
is  introduced  in  the  opening  words  of  his  book 
(1:1-4). 

The  words  of  Nehemiah  the  son  of  Hachaliah.  And 
it  came  to  pass  in  the  month  Chisleu,  in  the  twentieth  year, 
as  I  was  in  Shushan  the  palace,  that  Hanani,  one  of  my 
brethren,  came,  he  and  certain  men  of  Judah;  and  I  asked 
them  concerning  the  Jews  that  had  escaped,  which  were 
left  of  the  captivity,  and  concerning  Jerusalem.  And 
they  said  unto  me.  The  remnant  that  are  left  of  the  cap- 
tivity there  in  the  province  are  in  great  affliction  and  re- 
proach: the  wall  of  Jerusalem  also  is  broken  down,  and 
the  gates  thereof  are  burned  with  fire.  And  it  came  to 
pass,  when  I  heard  these  words,  that  I  sat  down  and  wept, 
and  mourned  certain  days,  and  fasted,  and  prayed  before 
the  God  of  heaven. 

We  need  to  remember  that  this  was  not  less  than 
ninety  years  after  the  Jews  returned  from  Baby- 


152  THE  BOOK  OF  DANIEL 

Ion ;  also  that  it  was  thirteen  years  after  this  same 
Artaxerxes  had  commissioned  Ezra  to  go  up  to 
Jerusalem.  Is  the  description  here  given  of  Je- 
rusalem's condition  indicative  of  what  had  existed 
all  these  years?  Certainly  not!  Nehemiah  in- 
quired for  news,  not  for  an  old  story:  "I  asked 
them  concerning  the  Jews  that  had  escaped." 
Escaped  what,  and  when  ?  Certainly  not  escaped 
from  Babylon  90  years  before.  That  was  not  an 
escape  at  all ;  it  was  a  free  and  honorable  emigra- 
tion. ''Which  were  left  of  the  captivity."  The 
emphasis  is  to  be  placed  upon  the  word  "left." 
These  are  further  described  as  "the  remnant  that 
are  left." 

It  is  clear  that  some  great  tragedy  had  recently 
occurred,  by  which  many  Jews  in  Jerusalem  had 
perished  and  from  which  only  a  remnant  had  es- 
caped— which  remnant  Hanani  told  Nehemiah 
was  in  abject  misery  and  reproach.  Likewise  the 
walls  and  gates  of  the  city  which  had  served  for 
nearly  a  century  of  peace,  had  by  some  extraor- 
dinary catastrophe  been  left  wrecked  and  charred. 
And  it  was  just  because  the  Jews,  after  so  long  a 
time  of  immunity,  were  still  left  exposed  to  such 
a  tragedy,  that  Nehemiah's  heart  was  stirred  to 
the  great  effort  of  making  Jerusalem  strong  exter- 
nally and  internally  for  self-defense,  as  well  as 
honorable  and  influential  before  all  peoples. 

Can  we  get  nearer  to  the  truth  of  this  crucial 
episode  in  Jewish  history?  The  Holy  Spirit  has 
left  to  the  watchful  eye  a  clue  to  this  inquiry  in 
the  first  citation  which  we  made  from  Nehemiah. 


VISION  OF  THE  SEVENTY  WEEKS     153 

In  2:  6  occur  the  words,  ''the  queen  also  sitting 
by  him."  This  parenthetical  statement  evidently 
implies  that  this  queen's  presence  turned  the  psy- 
chological moment  to  Nehemiah's  account.  It 
was  her  pleading  eye  and  nod  of  approval  that  car- 
ried the  day:  "So  it  pleased  the  king  to  send  me." 
This,  however,  only  deepens  the  mystery  and  in- 
tensifies our  sympathetic  curiosity.  Who  was  this 
queen  ? 

It  is  generally  held  that  the  Ahasuerus  of  the 
book  of  Esther  was  the  Persian  monarch  Xerxes, 
who  reigned  485-465  B.  C,  and  who  was  the 
father  of  this  Artaxerxes.  The  name  "Ahas- 
uerus" is  purely  official  and  not  personal;  so  that 
it  is  equally  applicable  to  Artaxerxes.  Now  there 
is  no  certain  proof  that  Esther  was  the  wife  of 
Xerxes.  The  strongest  reason  for  preferring  him 
is  because  of  his  fabulous  weath,  which  might  be 
thought  to  be  reflected  in  the  lavish  feast  of  180 
days'  duration  described  in  the  first  chapter  of 
Esther.  This,  however,  is  not  at  all  conclusive. 
Display  and  extravagance  are  not  always  proofs 
of  corresponding  wealth.  And  what  was  more 
likely  than  that  the  young  king,  having  succeeded 
to  his  father's  kingdom  and  wealth,  should  cele- 
brate the  morning  of  his  reign  by  instituting,  "in 
the  third  year,"  such  a  lavish  display? 

Strong  evidences  are  not  wanting  that  the  king 
of  the  book  of  Esther  was  this  Artaxerxes.  (We 
say  "this  Artaxerxes,"  because  there  was  another 
Artaxerxes  of  Scripture,  mentioned  in  Ezra  4:7, 
otherwise  known  in  history  as  Pseudo-Smerdis.) 


154  THE  BOOK  OF  DANIEL 

The  following  paragraph  is  to  be  found  in  "Uni- 
versal History  on  Scriptural  Principles,"  page 
100  (Samuel  Baxter  and  Sons,  London,  1844): 
"Artaxerxes  was  surnamed  Longimanus  on  ac- 
count of  his  arms;  for  it  is  said  that  his  hands 
touched  his  knees  when  he  was  standing.  The 
Persian  historians  called  this  king  Ardeshir  [a 
variation  of  the  name  Artaxerxes]  Dirazdest,  or 
long-handed ;  and  they  say  that  he  married  a  beau- 
tiful damsel,  named  Esther,  whom  he  found 
among  the  Jewish  captives."  This  appears  to  be 
reliable  historical  evidence  that  Artaxerxes  Longi- 
manus of  the  book  of  Nehemiah  is  the  king  Ahas- 
uerus  of  the  book  of  Esther. 

With  this  supposition  all  of  the  chronological 
and  historical  data  involved  nicely  harmonize. 
Esther  became  the  queen  in  the  Jewish  month 
Tebeth  of  the  seventh  year  of  Ahasuerus'  reign 
(Esther  2:  16).  This  would  be  very  early  in 
the  civil  year,  458  B.  C.  That  was  the  year  in 
which  Ezra  went  up  to  Jerusalem — only  he  left 
two  months  later  (Ez.  7 :  8).  Esther  was  not  yet 
known  to  the  king  as  one  of  Ezra's  people;  yet  not 
unlikely  she  had  much  to  do  with  her  new  spouse's 
favor  toward  Ezra.  At  any  rate  the  coincidence 
in  God's  providence  just  here  is  beautiful  and  sig- 
nificant. Five  years  later,  in  453  B.  C,  Haman 
had  got  his  plot  well  under  way,  not  only  against 
Mordecai,  the  foster  cousin  of  Esther  (Esther 
2:7),  but  also  against  Mordecai 's  whole  race,  the 
Jews  (3:  6).  For,  in  the  Jewish  first  month  of 
that  year,  "the  twelfth  year  of  king  Ahasuerus," 


VISION  OF  THE  SEVENTY  WEEKS     155 

Haman  began  to  cast  lots  for  a  suitable  day  for 
the  destruction  of  the  Jewish  race  (3:  7).  Not 
until  the  twelfth  month  (Jewish),  or  about  March 
of  452  B.  C,  did  he  find  the  fateful  day.  The 
day  appointed  "to  destroy,  to  kill,  and  to  cause  to 
perish,  all  Jews,  both  young  and  old,  little  chil- 
dren and  women,  in  one  day,"  was  the  "thirteenth 
day  of  the  [Jewish]  twelfth  month"  following, 
i.e.,oftheyear451B.  C.  (3:  12,13). 

It  was  then  that  Mordecai  procured  the  inter- 
vention of  Queen  Esther  at  the  risk  of  her  life. 
God  favored  her  courageous  step  of  faith,  and  He 
brought  Haman  to  the  gallows  which  he  had 
erected  for  Mordecai  and  placed  the  latter  in  the 
seat  of  power  vacated  by  the  former.  Again  the 
beautiful  and  beloved  queen  approached  the  mon- 
arch— not,  however,  in  queenly  attire  and  posture, 
but  in  all  the  attitude  of  a  broken-hearted  woman 
and  Jewess.  She  pleaded  with  Ahasuerus  to 
avert  the  tragedy  which  still  awaited  her  people 
because  of  the  irrevocable  decree  Vhich  the  king 
had  authorized  Haman  to  send  throughout  the 
empire.  To  this  appeal  the  king  consented  to  the 
utmost  degree  possible.  He  could  not  revoke  the 
former  decree;  but  he  caused  a  new  decree  to  be 
issued,  which  authorized  the  Jews  to  stand  for 
their  lives  against  their  enemies  when  that  mo- 
mentous day  should  arrive.  This  counter-decree 
was  issued  in  the  third  Jewish  month  of  452  B.  C. 
(8:  9).  The  Jews  were  empowered  to  exter- 
minate and  despoil  those  who  attacked  them  as 
freely  as  Haman's  decree  authorized  the  enemies 


156  THE  BOOK  OF  DANIEL 

of  the  Jews  to  do  to  them  (8:11,12).  The  effect 
of  this  new  decree  was  electric:  ''And  the  city  of 
Shushan  rejoiced  and  was  glad.  The  Jews  had 
light,  and  gladness,  and  joy,  and  honor"  (8:  15, 
16). 

On  the  appointed  day  a  severe  civil  conflict 
occurred  throughout  the  Persian  realm  of  127 
provinces — "from  India  even  unto  Ethiopia." 
The  Jews  were  assaulted  with  deadly  hatred  and 
murderous  intent,  but  they  everywhere  had  victory 
over  their  foes.  The  story  is  recounted  in  Esther 
9 :  1-10.  How  fierce  the  struggle  was  is  indicated 
by  the  large  numbers  slain  by  the  Jews  in  the 
capital  city  itself  (vs.  15).  Throughout  the  prov- 
inces they  slew  no  less  than  75,000  men.  What  a 
simple  and  obvious  conclusion  it  is,  to  see  in  the 
deplorable  condition  of  Jerusalem,  described  in 
Neh.  1 :  1-3,  the  result  of  the  struggle  in  that  city, 
— the  one  place  of  all  where  such  enemies  as  San- 
ballat,  Tobiah  and  Geshem  would  make  their 
most  violent  assault.  That  any  Jews  were  left  at 
all,  that  Jerusalem  still  stood  in  any  condition 
short  of  being  a  heap  of  ashes  and  of  charred 
bones,  was  due  to  successful,  although  desperate, 
resistance.  No  wonder  that  Nehemiah,  after  be- 
ing told  what  pathetic  evidences  of  that  fearful 
struggle  still  remained  six  years  later,  was  stirred 
to  his  noble  effort  to  bring  Jerusalem  into  an  ade- 
quate state  of  defense  and  of  acknowledged  auton- 
omy! 

It  seems  to  be  justifiable  to  devote  so  much  care 
to  establishing  the  historical  event  and  the  nature 


VISION  OF  THE  SEVENTY  WEEKS     157 

of  the  event  which  constitutes  the  basis  of  the 
reckoning  of  the  seventy  weeks.  After  nearly  a 
century  and  a  half  of  national  disorganization, 
the  Jews  were  once  more  granted  by  imperial 
authority  the  right,  and  were  by  Nehemiah's  work 
placed  in  the  condition,  of  self-government  and 
self-defense.  Although  not  permitted  to  become 
again  an  independent  kingdom,  yet  they  were  of- 
ficially recognized  as  a  Jewish  State,  religious  in 
basis,  but  with  large  political  privilege.  And  it 
is  just  this  Jewish  State,  the  career  of  which  is 
outlined  by  the  Vision  of  the  Seventy  Weeks. 

The  Seven  Weeks,  and  the  Sixty  and  Two 
Weeks. — In  verse  25  a  continuous  stretch  of  69 
of  the  70  sevens  of  years  is  marked  off,  amounting 
to  483  years.  A  division  into  7  plus  62  sevens  of 
years  is  indicated.  What  important  event  was  to 
constitute  this  way-mark  is  not  intimated.  But  it 
is  noteworthy  that  49  sacred  years  (of  360  days 
to  the  year)  will  cover  the  time  exactly  from  B.  C. 
445,  when  the  decree  of  Artaxerxes  was  issued,  to 
the  close  of  Hebrew  prophecy  and  of  the  Old 
Testament  canon  in  Malachi.  It  seems  very  ap- 
propriate to  suppose  that  this  is  what  was  secretly 
intimated  by  the  demarcation  of  the  seven  weeks. 

It  must  be  clear  to  every  one  that  the  further 
62  weeks  terminate  upon  Christ  in  His  first  ad- 
vent. The  terms  "Messiah,  the  Prince"  will  bear 
no  other  reasonable  construction.  These  two  ti- 
tles belong  to  our  Lord  in  His  specific  relation  to 
the  Jewish  State.  The  term  "Messiah"  means  the 
Anointed;  the  term  "Prince,"  the  King.     As  the 


158  THE  BOOK  OF  DANIEL 

Anointed  King  of  the  Jews  He  is  the  objective  of 
the  483  years. 

But  the  precision  which  evidently  characterizes 
the  chronology  of  the  Seventy  Weeks,  the  exact- 
ness with  which  all  prophetic  times  are  fulfilled, 
calls  for  an  exact  time-ending  of  the  62  weeks. 
Unless  we  look  for  a  day  when  483  sacred  years 
of  360  days  to  the  year  exactly  terminate,  we  will 
be  taking  God's  inerrant  prophetic  word  at  our 
own  loose  pleasure.  It  is  not  a  difficult  or  uncer- 
tain matter  for  us,  in  looking  back,  to  descry  the 
very  day  which  alone  fulfils  the  description  of 
the  terminal  point  of  the  483  years.  There  was 
one  day,  and  one  only,  in  all  Christ's  life  and  min- 
istry on  which  He  offered  Himself  to  the  Jewish 
State  as  the  promised  Messiah  and  Prince.  We 
refer  to  the  Sabbath  day  on  which  Jesus  rode  into 
Jerusalem  as  King  according  to  the  exact  manner 
required  by  the  Hebrew  prophecies.  All  four 
Evangelists  relate  the  event  fully.  We  present 
Matthew's  account  (21:1-11): 

And  when  they  drew  nigh  unto  Jerusalem,  and  were 
come  to  Bethphage,  unto  the  mount  of  Olives,  then  sent 
Jesus  two  disciples,  saying  unto  them,  Go  into  the  village 
over  against  you,  and  straightway  ye  shall  find  an  ass  tied, 
and  a  colt  with  her:  loose  them,  and  bring  them  to  me. 
And  if  any  man  say  aught  unto  you,  ye  shall  say.  The 
Lord  hath  need  of  them;  and  straightway  he  will  send 
them.  All  this  was  done,  that  it  might  be  fulfilled  which 
was  spoken  by  the  prophet,  saying.  Tell  ye  the  daughter  of 
Sion,  Behold,  thy  King  cometh  unto  thee,  meek,  and  sit- 
ting upon  an  ass,  and  a  colt  the  foal  of  an  ass.  And  the 
disciples  went,  and  did  as  Jesus  commanded  them,  and 


VISION  OF  THE  SEVENTY  WEEKS     159 

brought  the  ass,  and  the  colt,  and  put  on  them  their  clothes, 
and  they  set  him  thereon.  And  a  very  great  multitude 
spread  their  garments  in  the  way;  others  cut  down 
branches  from  the  trees,  and  strewed  them  in  the  way. 
And  the  multitudes  that  went  before,  and  that  followed, 
cried,  saying,  Hosanna  to  the  Son  of  David :  Blessed  is  he 
that  Cometh  in  the  name  of  the  Lord;  Hosanna  in  the 
highest.  And  when  he  was  come  to  Jerusalem,  all  the  city 
was  moved,  saying,  Who  is  this?  And  the  multitude  said, 
This  is  Jesus  the  prophet  of  Nazareth  of  Galilee. 

This  was  the  fourth  day  before  the  crucifixion. 

Now  the  passover  lamb  had  to  be  slain  toward 
evening  on  the  fourteenth  day  of  the  first  month 
of  the  Jewish  year,  the  month  Nisan ;  and  the  lamb 
must  be  eaten  that  night,  which  would  be  the  be- 
ginning of  the  fifteenth  day.  But  four  days  be- 
fore being  killed  (which  would  be  the  fifth  day 
before  being  eaten),  i.  e.,  the  tenth  day,  the  lamb 
must  be  selected  from  the  flock  and  taken  into 
keeping  until  slain.  Now  it  was  in  the  evening 
beginning  the  tenth  day  of  Nisan  that  Jesus  was 
selected  as  the  Lamb  of  God  and  by  Mary's  act  of 
anointing  Him  consecrated  ''unto  burial."  On 
the  morning  of  the  tenth  day  He  rode  into  Jeru- 
salem as  King;  but  He  was  rejected  as  such  by 
the  authorities,  who  thereby  in  hatred  determined 
His  death  as  the  Lamb  of  God  to  be  slain  for  their 
sins. 

Can  the  exact  termini  of  the  483  years  be  fixed? 
We  think  that  they  can,  at  least  with  reasonable 
certainty.  We  have  already  seen  that  Artaxerxes 
gave  Nehemiah  that  important  political  firman  in 
the  year  445  B.  C,  the  twentieth  year  of  Arta^ 


i6o  THE  BOOK  OF  DANIEL 

xerxes'  reign.  From  Neh.  2 :  1  we  learn  that  the 
date  was  the  month  Nisan,  the  first  month  of  the 
Jewish  year.  The  day  of  the  month  is  not  stated. 
But  the  very  omission  indicates,  according  to  the 
habit  of  the  Scriptures,  that  it  was  the  first  day  of 
the  month,  the  Jewish  New  Year  Day — a  most  ap- 
propriate day  for  such  a  providence.  Now,  start- 
ing with  this  date,  it  is  found  that  483  sacred 
years,  of  360  days  to  the  year,  terminate  precisely, 
to  a  day,  on  Palm  Sabbath,  the  tenth  of  Nisan,  of 
the  year  32  A.  D. — the  very  day  when  Jesus  chal- 
lenged the  Jewish  State  by  all  prophetic  signs  to 
receive  Him  as  ''the  Messiah,  the  Prince." 

The  Great  Parenthesis. — Let  us  take  verse 
26  according  to  the  Revised  Version:  "And  after 
the  three-score  and  two  weeks  shall  the  Anointed 
One  be  cut  off,  and  shall  have  nothing:  and  the 
people  of  the  prince  that  shall  come  shall  destroy 
the  city  and  the  sanctuary;  and  the  end  thereof 
shall  be  with  a  flood,  and  even  unto  the  end  shall 
be  war:  desolations  are  determined." 

It  is  clear  that,  while  this  verse  takes  up  the 
thread  of  events  directly  after  the  close  of  the  483 
years,  yet  the  remaining  week  of  the  seventy  is 
not  dealt  with  until  verse  27.  Consequently, 
verse  26  marks  a  parenthesis  in  the  history  of  the 
Jewish  State. 

The  four  Gospels  unitedly  indicate  that  Jesus 
cut  off  the  Jews  from  further  national  recognition 
as  soon  as  they  officially  rejected  His  offer  of  Him- 
self as  their  King.  Appearing  in  Jerusalem  the 
next  day  after  that  Sabbath,  He  cleansed  the  tern- 


VISION  OF  THE  SEVENTY  WEEKS     161 

pie  of  the  money-changers.  Returning  the  day 
following,  as  His  last  public  act  He  disowned  the 
Jewish  State  indefinitely:  "Therefore  say  I  unto 
you,  The  kingdom  of  God  shall  be  taken  from 
you  and  given  to  a  nation  bringing  forth  the  fruits 
thereof"  (Matt.  21:  43). 

Two  great  events  of  supreme  importance  are 
assigned  in  verse  26  to  this  parenthetical  time  in 
Jewish  history:  the  crucifixion  of  Jesus,  which 
immediately  occurred,  and  the  destruction  of  Je- 
rusalem and  the  Jewish  temple  in  70  A.  D.,  when 
the  Roman  arms  under  Titus  besieged  the  city  and, 
after  incredible  miseries  to  the  Jews,  captured  it 
and  reduced  all  to  ashes.  Jerusalem  has  never 
since  been  a  Jewish  city.  After  many  years  it 
was  rebuilt  as  a  pagan  city.  It  gradually  be- 
came Christian,  especially  after  Constantine  the 
Great.  For  a  short  time  it  was  in  Persian  pos- 
session. In  637  it  was  taken  by  the  Moslems. 
In  1099  the  Crusaders  wrested  it  away  from  in- 
fidel hands.  But  for  seven  and  a  quarter  cen- 
turies it  has  been  Moslem  only. 

The  Prince  That  Shall  Come. — It  is  very 
important  to  notice,  that  verse  26  represents  that 
the  city  and  the  sanctuary  were  to  be  destroyed  by 
the  people  of  a  coming  prince.  Of  course  this 
cannot  be  "the  Messiah,  the  Prince."  And  yet  it 
is  evidently  a  coming  prince  over  the  Jews.  The 
connection  of  thought  demands  this.  The  prince 
himself  was  not  to  destroy  the  city  and  the  temple, 
but  the  people  of  the  prince  yet  to  come  was  to  do 
this.     The  revelation,  then,  is  that,  of  the  people 


i62  THE  BOOK  OF  DANIEL 

who  should  destroy  Jerusalem  and  the  Jewish 
Temple — which,  as  we  have  mentioned,  was  done 
by  the  arms  of  the  Roman  Empire  in  70  A.  D. — 
a  coming  head  shall  be  prince  of  the  Jewish  State 
in  the  place  of  the  rejected  Prince  of  the  Jews, 
their  Messiah.  In  other  words,  the  Jewish  State, 
which  was  renounced  on  Palm  Sabbath  by  Jesus 
owing  to  their  rejection  of  Him  as  "Messiah,  the 
Prince,"  was  by  His  act  of  authority  suspended 
from  further  existence  and  history  until  it  shall  be 
reconstituted  as  such  by  an  Anti-Prince,  the  Anti- 
christ. 

It  is  at  first  perplexing  to  trace  the  thought  of 
the  third  and  last  section  of  verse  26,  beginning 
with  ''And  the  end  thereof  shall  be  with  a  flood." 
The  opening  words  of  verse  27,  ''And  he  shall 
confirm  the  covenant  with  many  for  one  week," 
must  refer  back  to  "the  prince  that  shall  come." 
But,  using  here  the  pronoun  "he,"  instead  of  re- 
peating the  noun  "the  prince,"  implies  that  no 
principal  subject  of  mention  has  intervened,  al- 
though, at  first  thought,  the  adverb  "thereof" 
would  be  taken  to  refer  to  the  city  and  the  sanctu- 
ary. We  are  forced,  therefore,  to  connect  this 
adverb  with  "the  prince,"  and  to  understand  that 
the  sentence  means  that  the  end  of  this  coming 
Anti-Messiah  will  be  with  a  flood.  Leeser  trans- 
lates it,  "But  his  end  will  come  in  a  violent  over- 
throw." 

The  next  words,  "And  even  unto  the  end  shall 
be  war,"  would  then  mean  "unto  the  end"  of  this 
prince.     That  is  to  say,  this  prince's  end  is  to  be 


VISION  OF  THE  SEVENTY  WEEKS     163 

by  an  awful  catastrophe  arresting  him  in  the  midst 
of  a  war  upon  Israel.  It  is  added,  "desolations  are 
determined."  This  indicates,  no  doubt,  the  unpar- 
alleled effects  of  the  war  upon  the  Holy  Land. 

The  Seventieth  Week. — In  taking  up  verse 
27,  it  is  well  for  us  again  to  have  also  before  our 
eyes  the  language  of  the  R.  V.:  "And  he  shall 
make  a  firm  covenant  with  many  for  one  week, 
and  in  the  midst  of  the  week  he  shall  cause  the 
sacrifice  and  the  oblation  to  cease;  and  upon  the 
wing  of  abominations  shall  come  one  that  maketh 
desolate:  and  even  unto  the  consummation,  and 
that  determined,  shall  wrath  be  poured  out  upon 
the  desolate." 

This  verse  evidently  rounds  out  what  we  have 
found  intimated  in  verse  26.  This  "week"  con- 
stitutes the  seven  of  the  490  years,  which  were  still 
left  to  be  made  up  after  the  arrival  of  "Messiah, 
the  Prince."  An  indefinite  interval  interrupts  the 
continuance  of  the  Jewish  State  after  His  rejec- 
tion. Verse  26  intimated  to  us  that,  before  the 
true  Messiah  again  appears  to  become  King  of 
the  Jews,  another  prince,  an  Anti-Messiah,  shall 
lord  it  over  them  and  shall  wage  a  war  of  utmost 
devastation  against  them  until  he  is  suddenly 
engulfed  in  an  awful  cataclysm.  Verse  27  now 
informs  us  that  the  Jews  will  regain  Statehood  for 
this  period  of  the  last  seven  years  by  virtue  of  a 
strong  political  convention  with  this  final  Roman 
Emperor.  The  "many"  who  enter  into  this  "cov- 
enant of  death,"  this  "agreement  with  hell,"  who 
hide  under  this  "refuge  of  lies"  (Isa.  28:  18), 


i64  THE  BOOK  OF  DANIEL 

are  to  be  understood  as  the  general  mass  of  apos- 
tate Jews  of  the  last  days. 

The  next  words  of  verse  27  bring  us  upon 
familiar  ground.  ^'In  the  midst  of  the  week  he 
shall  cause  the  sacrifice  and  oblation  to  cease." 
This  will  leave  3^  of  the  seven  last  years.  This 
last  half  of  the  7  years  is  the  same  as  that  desig- 
nated in  7 :  25 :  ^'And  they  shall  be  given  into  his 
hand  until  a  time,  and  times,  and  the  dividing  of 
time" — 3^  times,  or  years.  In  7:21  Daniel 
speaks  of  the  war  which  he  saw  the  horn  waging 
against  the  saints  with  prevailing  fury.  And 
7:  25  more  fully  describes  the  king's  unrestrained 
defiance  and  sacrilege.  This  description  agrees 
with  that  given  in  9 :  27  of  the  awful  scourging  of 
the  Jews  after  their  sacrifice  and  oblation  are 
taken  away;  "For  the  overspreading  of  abomina- 
tions he  shall  make  it  desolate" — city,  sanctuary, 
people — ''even  until  the  consummation,  and  that 
determined  [by  God's  retributive  decree]  shall  be 
poured  upon  the  desolate" — Jewish  State. 

Readers  will  remember  that  in  8:  11  also  the 
horn's  act  of  taking  away  the  daily  sacrifice  and 
casting  down  the  sanctuary  was  seen  by  Daniel. 
Now  we  learn  that  that  is  to  be  done  by  the  Anti- 
christ "in  the  midst  of  the  week."  For  the  first 
3^  years  the  Jews  will  enjoy  immunity  of  wor- 
ship under  their  treaty  with  Antichrist ;  but  after 
that  he  will  sweep  away  every  vestige  of  religious 
liberty  and  for  the  remaining  3 ^A  years  will  mer- 
cilessly and  defiantly  scourge  and  devastate  them. 
This  picture  is  given  even  more  graphically  and 


VISION  OF  THE  SEVENTY  V^EEKS     165 

extendedly  in  Revelation.  The  conditions  of  the 
first  half  of  the  last  seven  years  are  depicted  in 
Rev.  11 :  1-13,  those  of  the  last  half  in  13:  5-8. 

Readers  will  further  remember  that,  according 
to  Daniel  8:  13,  14,  there  are  to  be  2,300  days 
from  the  time  of  giving  over  the  sanctuary  and  the 
people  to  be  trodden  under  foot  until  the  "sanctu- 
ary be  cleansed,"  or  "justified"  (Marg.).  The 
vindication,  then,  for  the  desecration  of  the  sanc- 
tuary will  overlap  the  last  3>4  years  of  Anti- 
christ's reign  by  two  years,  ten  months,  and  twenty 
days.  It  is  reasonable  for  us  to  surmise  that  this 
will  be  the  length  of  time  required  to  build  and 
consecrate  the  Millennial  Temple  according  to 
Ezek.  40-44.  This  certainly  would  be  a  royal 
vindication  of  that  indignity.  According  to  2 
Thess.  2 :  4  the  "Man  of  Sin"  will  take  his  seat 
in  the  pre-millennial  temple  at  Jerusalem  (which 
the  Jews  in  their  impenitency  will  erect  before 
their  last  great  tribulation)  and  show  himself 
"that  he  is  God."  How  different  the  scene  when 
the  Lord  of  glory  shall  "anoint  the  most  Holy"  by 
His  entrance  into  the  Millennial  Temple  as  de- 
scribed by  Ezekiel,  43 :  1-7 : 

Afterward  he  brought  me  to  the  gate,  even  the  gate  that 
looketh  toward  the  east;  and,  behold,  the  glory  of  the 
God  of  Israel  came  from  the  way  of  the  east :  and  his  voice 
was  like  a  noise  of  many  waters:  and  the  earth  shined 
with  his  glory.  And  it  was  according  to  the  appearance  of 
the  vision  which  I  saw,  even  according  to  the  vision  that  I 
saw  when  I  came  to  destroy  the  city :  and  the  visions  were 
like  the  vision  that  I  saw  by  the  river  Chebar;  and  I  fell 
upon  my  face.     And  the  glory  of  the  Lord  came  into  th§ 


i66  THE  BOOK  OF  DANIEL 

house  by  the  way  of  the  gate  whose  prospect  is  toward  the 
east.  So  the  spirit  took  me  up,  and  brought  me  into  the 
inner  court;  and,  behold,  the  glory  of  the  Lord  filled  the 
house.  And  I  heard  him  speaking  unto  me  out  of  the 
house;  and  the  man  stood  by  me.  And  he  said  unto  me, 
Son  of  man,  the  place  of  ray  throne,  and  the  place  of  the 
soles  of  my  feet,  where  I  will  dwell  in  the  midst  of  the 
children  of  Israel  for  ever,  and  my  holy  name,  shall  the 
house  of  Israel  no  more  defile. 

The  Renewal  or  a  Hebrew  State  in  Pales- 
tine before  the  return  of  Christ,  to  suffer  their 
final  "great  tribulation,"  has  been  touched  upon 
(pp.  163-4).  The  order  of  this  pre-tribulation 
restoration  is  described  in  Ezek.  38:  8:  'Tn  the 
latter  years  thou  [the  Antichrist]  shalt  come  into 
the  land  that  [  1  ]  is  brought  back  from  the  sword, 
and  [2]  is  gathered  out  of  many  people,  .  .  . 
which  ...  is  [3]  brought  forth  out  of  the  na- 
tions, and  [4]  they  shall  dwell  [for  a  time]  safely 
all  of  them."  Palestine  has  now  been  continu- 
ously for  800  years  under  the  sword  of  Moham- 
med, and  the  Jews  have  been  unable  to  return  and 
rebuild  themselves  nationally.  The  most  notable 
sign  of  the  beginning  of  "the  latter  years"  is,  then, 
to  appear  when  "the  land — is  brought  back  from 
the  sword."  While  these  lines  are  being  written, 
— the  last  to  be  added  to  the  revised  manuscript — 
enlightened  believers  are  breathlessly  awaiting  the 
tidings  that  the  British  flag  has  been  unfurled 
over  Jerusalem.  Already  the  British  government 
has  officially  and  publicly  declared  for  a  new 
Jewish  State  in  Palestine.  This  result  will  go  far 
to  throw  prophetic  light  upon  the  divine  purpose 
in  the  greatest  of  world-conflicts. 


DANIEL'S  LAST  VISION 

1  In  the  third  year  of  Cyrus  king  of  Persia  a  thing  was 
revealed  unto  Daniel,  whose  name  was  called  Belteshaz- 
zar;  and  the  thing  was  true,  but  the  time  appointed  was 
long :  and  he  understood  the  thing,  and  had  understanding 
of  the  vision. 

Important  Opening  Statements. — The 
date  of  this  vision  is  to  be  reckoned  from  536  B. 
C,  when  Cyrus  took  the  throne  of  the  Medo-Per- 
sian  Empire.  His  ''third  year,"  when  Daniel 
received  this  revelation,  would  be  533  B.  C,  four 
years  after  the  previous  vision.  Daniel's  age 
supposedly  was  92  years.  The  truth  of  the  mat- 
ter is  emphasized ;  also  that  the  time  for  its  fulfil- 
ment was  very  distant.  The  latter  fact  leads  us 
already  to  expect  to  have  given  to  us  now  the  final 
portion  of  the  composite  revelation  of  the  last  days 
of  the  Times  of  the  Gentiles. 

It  is  also  emphasized  that  Daniel  was  given 
clearly  and  fully  to  understand  the  vision.  This 
implies  that  the  whole  matter  was  intelligible  in 
advance  of  historical  verification.  It  is  well  to 
emphasize  once  more  this  feature  of  prophecy. 
History  stands  related  to  prophecy,  not  as  its  elu- 
cidation or  interpretation,  but  only  as  its  verifica- 
tion.    Prophecy  throws  light  upon  history,  not 

167 


i68  THE  BOOK  OF  DANIEL 

vice  versa.  ''Historical  interpretation  of  proph- 
ecy" always  works  mischief.  Prophetical  inter- 
pretation of  history — is  the  divine  and  unerring 
guide  to  us.  This  makes  prophecy  "a  light  in  a 
dark  place,"  not  itself  a  dark  mystery  awaiting 
historical  light  for  its  elucidation.  Inattention 
and  unbelief,  venturing  to  teach  that  God  does  not 
mean  just  what  He  says,  or  to  "spiritualize" 
straightforward  communications  from  God,  will 
always  leave  Bible  readers  walking  in  ignorance 
of  the  signs  of  their  times  and  capable  of  seeing 
the  light  of  prophecy  only  after  the  need  of  that 
light  has  passed. 

We  have  a  striking  illustration  of  this  in  John 
12:  16:  "These  things  understood  not  His  disci- 
ples at  the  first:  but  when  Jesus  was  glorified, 
then  remembered  they  that  these  things  were  writ- 
ten of  Him,  and  that  they  had  done  these  things 
unto  Him."  Suppose  that  Jesus  had  taken  the 
prophecies  concerning  Himself  in  any  such  way  as 
we  have  been  describing !  He  made  prophecy  the 
arbiter  of  the  event.  It  is  continually  said  that 
He  did  thus  and  so,  "that  it  might  be  fulfilled 
which  was  spoken  by  the  prophets."  Now  if  we 
take  prophecy  aright,  we  will  be  throwing  true 
light  forward  into  the  womb  of  unborn  events,  and 
the  creations  of  God's  providences  will  be  coming 
forth  as  the  children  of  that  light. 

The  present  application  of  the  matter  is  this: 
if  Daniel  "understood  the  thing,"  so  that  the  un- 
derstanding of  the  thing  awaited  nothing  further, 
then  we  have  our  "understanding  of  the  vision"  by 


DANIEL'S  LAST  VISION  169 

Daniel's  exposition  of  it.  We  do  not  perceive  the 
sense  of  the  vision  by  the  light  of  what  may  now 
have  been  fulfilled,  but  we  perceive  what  has  been 
fulfilled  by  the  light  of  the  vision.  Likewise,  we 
are  not  left  in  perplexity  and  to  cunning  devices 
of  "interpretation"  where  fulfilment  has  not  yet 
come;  but  we  have  foresight  of  coming  events 
through  the  prophecy  itself  which  will  be  the  only 
true  interpretation  of  them.  In  other  words, 
prophecy  is  altogether  self-interpreting.  The 
catching  phrase,  "History  Unveiling  Prophecy," 
puts  the  "candle"  of  prophecy  "under  a  bushel." 

2  In  those  days  I  Daniel  was  mourning  three  full 
weeks.  3  I  ate  no  pleasant  bread,  neither  came  flesh  nor 
wine  in  my  mouth,  neither  did  I  anoint  myself  at  all, 
till  three  whole  weeks  were  fulfilled. 

Daniel's  Great  Burden. — We  can  easily  sur- 
mise what  moved  the  aged  saint  to  this  supreme 
undertaking  of  prayer  and  fasting  before  God. 
The  date  of  the  vision  helps  us  here.  It  was  two 
years  after  the  captives  were  released  to  return  at 
their  pleasure  to  Jerusalem  to  rebuild  the  temple. 
It  must  have  been  a  great  surprise  and  disappoint- 
ment, that  so  few  from  all  the  multitudes  of  the 
Twelve  Tribes  dwelling  in  all  the  empire  availed 
themselves  of  this  opportunity.  The  emigration 
of  somewhat  over  forty  thousand  exiles  repre- 
sented but  a  disgraceful  moiety  of  Judah,  to  say 
nothing  of  the  vast  multitudes  of  the  Ten  Tribes 
which  had  been  much  longer  in  captivity.  Dan- 
iel had  heard,  doubtless,  of  the  comparatively 


170  THE  BOOK  OF  DANIEL 

mean  proportions  of  the  foundations  of  the  new 
temple  which  had  just  been  laid  and  dedicated. 
Probably  he  knew  also  of  the  alarming  hindrances 
which  malicious  enemies  were  already  interposing 
to  the  further  progress  of  the  work.  Certainly 
his  extreme  exercises  of  self-denial  and  abase- 
ment betoken  a  most  grievously  burdened  and  per- 
plexed spirit. 

At  this  point  the  reader  is  requested  to  look  care- 
fully through  the  text  to  the  end  of  the  book,  to 
see  that  the  material  falls  into  three  parts  which 
we  need  to  take  up  separately:  Part  I,  10:  4 — 
11:1.  Part  II,  11:2-35.  Part  III,  11:36— 
12:  13,  Part  I  is  purely  introductory;  Part  II 
is  a  foreground  consisting  of  a  span  of  history  to 
begin  comparatively  soon  after  the  date  of  the 
vision;  Part  III  is  clearly  a  vision  of  the  last  days. 
We  will  confine  ourselves  in  the  present  chapter 
to  Part  I. 

Part  1 — Introduction  of  DanieVs  Last   Vision, 
10:4—11:  1. 

4  And  in  the  four  and  twentieth  day  of  the  first  month, 
as  I  was  beside  the  great  river,  which  is  Hiddekel ;  5  Then 
I  lifted  up  mine  eyes,  and  looked,  and  behold  a  certain 
man  clothed  in  linen,  whose  loins  were  girded  with  fine 
gold  of  Uphaz:  6  His  body  also  was  like  the  beryl,  and 
his  face  as  the  appearance  of  lightning,  and  his  eyes  as 
lamps  of  fire,  and  his  arms  and  his  feet  like  in  color  to 
polished  brass,  and  the  voice  of  his  words  like  the  voice 
of  a  multitude.  7  And  I  Daniel  alone  saw  the  vision: 
for  the  men  that  were  with  me  saw  not  the  vision;  but  a 
great  quaking  fell  upon  them,  so  that  they  fled  to  hide 
themselves.     8  Therefore  I  was  left  alone,  and  saw  this 


DANIEL'S  LAST  VISION  171 

great  vision,  and  there  remained  no  strength  in  me:  for 
my  comeliness  was  turned  in  me  into  corruption,  and  I 
retained  no  strength.  9  Yet  heard  I  the  voice  of  his 
words:  and  when  I  heard  the  voice  of  his  words,  then  I 
was  in  a  deep  sleep  upon  my  face,  and  my  face  toward 
the  ground.  10  And  behold,  a  hand  touched  me,  which 
set  me  upon  my  knees  and  upon  the  palms  of  my  hands. 
11  And  he  said  unto  me,  O  Daniel,  a  man  greatly  beloved, 
understand  the  words  that  I  speak  unto  thee,  and  stand 
upright :  for  unto  thee  am  I  now  sent.  And  when  he  had 
spoken  this  word  unto  me,  I  stood  trembling.  12  Then 
said  he  unto  me,  Fear  not,  Daniel :  for  from  the  first  day 
that  thou  didst  set  thine  heart  to  understand,  and  to  chasten 
thyself  before  thy  God,  thy  words  were  heard,  and  I  am 
come  for  thy  words.  13  But  the  prince  of  the  kingdom 
of  Persia  withstood  me  one  and  twenty  days:  but,  lo,  Mi- 
chael, one  of  the  chief  princes,  came  to  help  me;  and  I 
remained  there  with  the  kings  of  Persia.  14  Now  I  am 
come  to  make  thee  understand  what  shall  befall  thy  people 
in  the  latter  days:  for  yet  the  vision  is  for  many  days.  15 
And  when  he  had  spoken  such  words  unto  me,  I  set  my 
face  toward  the  ground,  and  I  became  dumb.  16  And 
behold,  one  like  the  similitude  of  the  sons  of  men  touched 
my  lips:  then  I  opened  my  mouth,  and  spake,  and  said 
unto  him  that  stood  before  me,  O  my  Lord,  by  the  vision 
my  sorrows  are  turned  upon  me,  and  I  have  retained  no 
strength.  17  For  how  can  the  servant  of  this  my  lord 
talk  with  this  my  lord?  for  as  for  me,  straightway  there 
remained  no  strength  in  me,  neither  is  there  breath  left  in 
me.  18  Then  there  came  again  and  touched  me  one  like 
the  appearance  of  a  man,  and  he  strengthened  me,  19  And 
said,  O  man  greatly  beloved,  fear  not:  peace  be  unto  thee, 
be  strong,  yea,  be  strong.  And  when  he  had  spoken  unto 
me,  I  was  strengthened,  and  said.  Let  my  lord  speak;  for 
thou  hast  strengthened  me.  20  Then  said  he,  Knowest 
thou  wherefore  I  come  unto  thee?  and  now  will  I  return 
to  fight  with  the  prince  of  Persia:  and  when  I  am  gone 
forth,  lo,  the  prince  of  Grecia  shall  come.  21  But  I  will 
shew  thee  that  which  is  noted  in  the  scripture  of  truth; 


172  THE  BOOK  OF  DANIEL 

and  there  is  none  that  holdeth  with  me  in  these  things,  but 
Michael  your  prince. 

1  Also  I  in  the  first  year  of  Darius  the  Mede,  even  I, 
stood  to  confirm  and  to  strengthen  him. 

Daniel's  Celestial  Visitant. — The  descrip- 
tion of  this  celestial  being  which  is  given  in  verses 
5,  6,  and  the  effect  produced  by  his  appearance 
upon  Daniel,  would  lead  us  at  first  to  favor  the 
idea  that  it  was  the  Son  of  God  appearing  in  hu- 
man form.  A  closer  study  will  prove  this  view 
to  be  untenable. 

It  will  suffice  to  show  that  only  one  celestial  per- 
son is  to  be  seen  in  the  entire  chapter.  Unques- 
tionably it  is  the  same  person  through  verses  5-9. 
But  that  it  is  the  same  person  appearing  in  verses 
10-15  is  evident  from  verse  11,  where  he  refers 
back  to  the  words  mentioned  in  verse  9  as  his  own 
— those  words  of  which  Daniel  then  only  heard  the 
voice,  but  which  the  speaker  of  them  now  under- 
takes to  strengthen  Daniel  to  understand.  And 
that  it  is  still  the  same  person  in  10:  16 — 11 :  1  is 
evident,  because  both  in  verses  12  and  14  and  in 
verses  20,  21  he  declares  himself  to  be  the  mes- 
senger sent  from  God  to  make  Daniel  understand 
the  vision. 

Now  that  this  person  cannot  be  Christ  is  con- 
clusive from  the  nature  of  his  ministry.  He  re- 
peatedly represents  himself  to  be  but  a  messenger 
sent  to  give  Daniel  intelligence  in  the  vision,  as  in 
the  three  previous  visions  had  been  done.  Then, 
we  cannot  conceive  of  Christ's  being  detained 
three  weeks  midway  by  ''the  prince  of  the  kingdom 


DANIEL'S  LAST  VISION  173 

of  Persia."  Finally,  the  relation  between  this 
person  and  Michael  as  comrades  and  helpers  to 
each  other  shows  that  this  person  is  a  fellow-angel, 
most  likely  Gabriel,  who  had  before  served  as 
God's  messenger  to  Daniel. 

Daniel's  Prostrations. — Overpowering  ef- 
fects of  angelic  apparitions  upon  human  beings 
are  familiar  to  a  reader  of  Scripture.  Still  the 
present  case  is  unusually  marked.  It  is  to  be  ob- 
served, however,  that  there  was  evidently  far  more 
disclosed  to  Daniel  than  appears  upon  the  surface 
of  the  narrative.  It  is  to  be  remembered  that 
Daniel  ''set  his  heart  to  understand" — some  deep 
problem  relating  to  his  people  (vs.  12).  That  the 
solution  of  that  problem  was  unfolded  to  him  in  a 
vision  is  apparent  from  the  statement  of  verse  1 
that  Daniel  ''had  understanding  of  the  vision," 
and  from  the  angel's  statement  in  verse  14,  "for 
yet  the  vision  is  for  many  days."  Now,  the  long 
passage,  11:  2 — 12:  13,  is  not  a  vision,  but  the 
explanation  of  a  vision.  We  see,  therefore,  that 
Daniel  was  being  overpowered,  after  three  weeks' 
travail  in  prayer  with  absolute  fasting,  not  alone 
with  the  stunning  appearance  of  an  arch-angel, 
but  also  with  an  amazing  celestial  panorama  of 
great  future  occurrences.  His  being  marvellously 
strengthened  by  the  angel  is  also  something  not 
unfamiliar  to  Bible  readers.  Our  Saviour  Him- 
self was  strengthened  by  angels  (Matt.  4:  11; 
Lu.  22:43). 

Focus  AND  Purport  of  the  Vision. — Of  vital 
importance  is  it  for  us  to  follow  closely  the  steps 


174  THE  BOOK  OF  DANIEL 

of  the  angel  in  leading  Daniel  into  the  under- 
standing of  the  vision.  As  in  the  vision  of  the 
ram  and  the  he-goat  the  interpreter  first  impressed 
upon  Daniel's  mind  that  the  vision  to  be  inter- 
preted related  to  the  far-distant  time  of  the  end,  so 
in  this  case,  in  verse  14  the  angel,  quite  in  advance 
of  giving  the  explanation  of  the  vision,  acquaints, 
Daniel  with  the  fact  that  the  vision  was  given  to 
make  known  to  him  "what  shall  befall  thy  people 
in  the  latter  days."  It  is  added,  'Tor  yet  the 
vision  is  for  many  days."  This  was  intended  to 
keep  Daniel's  eyes  looking  steadily  forward  dur- 
ing the  angel's  interpretation  until  the  real  focus 
was  reached — the  events  to  befall  his  people  in  the 
latter  days.  We  need  to  have  our  minds  adjusted 
to  the  same  focus  when  we  come  to  the  angel's  in- 
terpretation of  the  matter.  Evidently  the  surmise 
already  expressed  is  justified — that  in  this  last 
vision  we  are  to  have  brought  to  light  the  conclud- 
ing portion  of  the  composite  revelation  of  the 
whole  book  on  events  of  the  latter  days. 

They  Fought  From  Heaven. — In  various 
passages  from  Scripture,  inklings  are  given  us  of 
a  marvellous  system  of  diplomacy  and  of  strategic 
operations  constantly  in  force  in  the  skies,  by 
which  earthly  affairs  are  vitally  affected  and  con- 
trolled. The  intrepid  heroine  Deborah,  describ- 
ing in  her  song  of  victory  (Judges  5)  how  grandly 
her  standards  of  faith  and  holy  valor  were  sup- 
ported by  willing  allies  against  Sisera,  declares, 
"They  fought  from  heaven,  the  stars  in  their 
courses  fought  against  Sisera."     This  is  no  mere 


DANIEL'S  LAST  VISION  175 

poetic  conception;  it  is  the  literal  truth.  Earth 
and  sky  interlock  in  interest  and  in  action. 

When  the  base  men  of  Sodom  beset  Lot's  habi- 
tation with  evil  purpose  against  his  mysterious 
guests,  one  of  these  angelic  visitors  in  human 
form  smote  the  m_ob  with  blindness,  so  that  they 
wearied  themselves  in  fruitless  efforts  to  find  the 
door.  Elisha,  when  environed  by  the  Syrian 
hosts  at  Dothan,  assured  his  frightened  servant: 
''they  that  be  with  us  are  more  than  they  that  be 
with  them."  He  then  prayed  the  Lord  to  open  his 
servant's  eyes  that  he  might  see  the  invisible  host: 
"And  behold,  the  mountain  was  full  of  horses  and 
chariots  of  fire  round  about  Elisha."  At  the  criti- 
cal moment  of  the  approach  of  the  Syrians  Elisha 
calmly  prayed  the  Lord  to  smite  them  with  blind- 
ness. Those  unseen  defenders  of  the  Lord's 
prophet  used  this  terrible  implement  of  warfare; 
and  the  prophet  single-handed  led  the  sightless 
multitude  right  into  Samaria,  the  capital  of  Israel. 
Again,  when  Sennacherib,  the  Assyrian  king,  was 
on  the  point  of  destroying  Jerusalem,  in  the  days 
of  the  good  king  Hezekiah,  we  read,  "The  angel 
of  the  Lord  went  forth,  and  smote  in  the  camp  of 
the  Assyrians  a  hundred  and  fourscore  and  five 
thousand ;  and  when  they  arose  early  in  the  morn- 
ing, behold,  they  were  all  dead  corpses"  (Is. 
37:36). 

Many  other  instances  of  direct  angelic  inter- 
vention to  deliver  or  to  destroy  might  be  cited  from 
the  Scriptures.  But  on  the  other  hand,  many 
hints  are  also  given  of  interference  in  earthly 


176  THE  BOOK  OF  DANIEL 

affairs    by    Satanic    messengers    and    servants. 

That  is  no  myth  which  is  given  in  Job,  of  Sa- 
tan's accusation  before  God  that  this  believer — of 
early  times  way  back  before  Moses  and  outside  the 
historic  current  of  primeval  faith — was  devoted  to 
God  out  of  purely  selfish,  temporal  interest.  Aw- 
fully real  was  Satan's  malicious  delight  in  de- 
stroying, at  God's  permission,  the  flocks  and  the 
children  of  the  uncomplaining  saint,  and  in  smit- 
ing Job  with  the  worst  form  of  leprosy,  to  test  to 
the  utmost  his  patience  of  faith.  (While  these 
things  are  ascribed  to  Satan,  yet  most  likely  they 
were  executed  by  some  of  his  willing  minions,  the 
invisible  demons.)  And  in  1  Chron.  21:  1  we 
read:  "And  Satan  stood  up  against  Israel,  and 
provoked  David  to  number  Israel."  And  when 
Ahab  determined  to  get  sanction  from  above  for 
his  ill-starred  expedition  against  Syria,  as  re- 
corded in  2  Chron.  18,  the  Lord,  purposing  to 
bring  the  wicked  king  to  his  fall,  accepted  the 
proffer  of  a  spirit  who  said:  "I  will  go  out  and  be 
a  lying  spirit  in  the  mouth  of  all  his  prophets." 
By  this  means  Ahab  the  king  was  enticed  to  his 
ruin  and  death. 

The  New  Testament  abounds  in  testimony  re- 
garding most  intimate  attendance  of  godly  spirits 
upon  the  heirs  of  salvation  and  regarding  their 
most  important  ministries  to  them;  and  also  re- 
garding like  intimate  attendance  and  baleful  min- 
istrations of  devilish  spirits  upon  the  ungodly, 
especially  such  as  welcome  the  affinity  of  pretend- 
ing angels  of  light.     It  is  also  taught  that  the 


DANIEL'S  LAST  VISION  177 

unseen  evil  spirits  under  Satan's  directions  greatly 
beset  the  believer,  to  seduce,  to  deceive,  to  do  him 
harm  physically,  mentally,  morally  and  spirit- 
ually. Watchful  and  prayerful  resistance  to  them 
needs  to  be  exercised  by  the  believer  continually; 
and  it  is  needful  that,  ^Svhen  the  enemy  shall  come 
in  like  a  flood,  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  shall  lift  up 
a  standard  against  him." 

Seeing  that  both  these  classes  of  unseen  pres- 
ences and  agents  approach  men  and  operate  in 
relation  to  them  from  the  skies,  it  would  not 
seem  strange  that  two  classes  of  beings — so  oppo- 
site in  nature,  in  purpose  and  in  manner  of  action 
— should  have  mighty  conflicts  with  each  other  in 
their  common  region  of  the  skies.  It  seems  to  be 
natural  to  the  case,  that  they  should  by  such  con- 
flicts largely  bring  to  decision  beforehand  what 
they  respectively  shall  carry  into  effect  in  human 
affairs  and  interests.  It  is  this  aspect  of  the  sub- 
ject which  is  greatly  illuminated  by  the  portion 
of  Daniel  which  we  are  now  studying. 

Daniel's  awe-inspiring  visitor  assured  him  that 
''From  the  first  day  that  thou  didst  set  thine  heart 
to  understand,  and  to  chasten  thyself  before  God, 
thy  words  were  heard,  and  I  am  come  for  thy 
words,"  i.  e.,  in  response  to  thy  words.  ''But'^ 
the  angel  continued,  ''the  prince  of  the  kingdom 
of  Persia  withstood  me  one  and  twenty  days ;  but, 
lo,  Michael,  one  of  the  chief  princes  came  to  help 
me:  and  I  remained  there  with  the  kings  of  Per- 
sia. Now  [being  no  longer  needed  there,  or  hav- 
ing overcome  with  Michael's  aid  the  opposition] 


178  THE  BOOK  OF  DANIEL 

I  am  come  to  make  thee  understand"  etc.     Let  us 
read  verses  20,  21  also,  together  with  11:1: 

Then  said  he,  Knowest  thou  wherefore  I  come  unto  thee? 
and  now  will  I  return  to  fight  with  the  prince  of  Persia: 
and  when  I  am  gone  forth,  lo,  the  prince  of  Grecia  shall 
come.  But  I  will  shew  thee  that  which  is  noted  in  the 
scripture  of  truth :  and  there  is  none  that  holdeth  with  me 
in  these  things,  but  Michael  your  prince.  Also  I  in  the 
first  year  of  Darius  the  Mede,  even  I,  stood  to  confirm  and 
to  strengthen  him. 

The  person  called  "the  prince  of  the  kingdom 
of  Persia"  was  not  Cyrus,  the  visible  ruler  of  the 
empire,  but  a  mighty  unseen  being  having  celestial 
principality  over  that  great  realm.  Those  called 
"the  kings  of  Persia"  were  not  the  officials  of 
Cyrus  ruling  the  120  provinces  of  the  empire,  but 
they  were  invisible  beings  having  kingship  over 
those  provinces  under  the  imperial  prince  just 
mentioned.  That  this  prince  must  have  been  an 
appointee  of  Satan — exercising  his  own  office  and 
directing  the  offices  of  those  under  him  in  Satan's 
interest — is  clear  from  the  fact  that  he  so  stoutly 
opposed  the  messenger  of  God  on  his  way  to 
Daniel. 

This  reminds  us  of  Eph.  6:  12:  "For  we 
wrestle  not  against  flesh  and  blood,  but  against 
principalities,  against  powers,  against  the  rulers 
of  the  darkness  of  this  world,  against  spiritual 
wickedness  [wicked  spirits]  in  high  [heavenly] 
places."  This  shows  that  Satan  has  in  the  skies 
above  us  a  vast,  consummately  organized  em- 
pire, divided  into  spheres,  with  ranks  of  officials, 


DANIEL'S  LAST  VISION  179 

all  engaged  in  ruling  this  world  after  their 
own  manner  and  contrary  to  the  kingdom  of 
God.  This  realm  of  Satan  is  called  "the  king- 
dom of  darkness";  and  all  his  subordinates  are 
called  "the  world-rulers  of  this  darkness." 
There  was  the  world-ruler  of  darkness  over  the 
Persian  Empire,  with  kings  of  darkness  under 
him  ruling  over  the  component  kingdoms  of  the 
empire.  There  was  also  the  mighty  prince-ruler 
of  darkness  over  Grecia.  It  suggests  to  our 
minds  that  governmental  organizations  in  Satan's 
interest  exist  in  the  skies  exactly  corresponding  to 
and  interlocking  with  the  governmental  organiza- 
tions of  the  earth. 

We  have  already  been  taught  in  Daniel  that 
"the  heavens  do  rule."  But  we  thought  that  it 
meant  that  "the  Most  High  ruleth  in  the  kingdom 
of  men."  And  so  it  does.  Although  the  devil 
has  the  principality  in  the  skies  over  this  earth, 
yet  he  is  not  independent  of  God,  and  he  is  not 
frustrating  the  ultimate  purposes  of  God  but 
furthering  them.  And  this  chapter  of  Daniel  elu- 
cidates the  matter  somewhat.  Into  Satan's  sphere 
of  sky-rule  God  sends  forth  angelic  invaders  to 
contend  (as  did  Michael  the  archangel  with  Satan 
himself  over  the  body  of  Moses,  Jude  9),  to  con- 
test, to  dispute,  to  frustrate,  to  baffle  the  counsels 
and  the  operations  of  Satan.  We  may  be  sure 
that  not  only  the  wrath  of  man,  but  also  the  wrath 
of  Satan  brings  praise  to  God ;  and  the  remainder 
thereof,  what  cannot  bring  praise  to  God,  God  re- 
straineth.     We  are  taught  that  children  have  their 


i8o  THE  BOOK  OF  DANIEL 

appointed  angels,  and  that  angels  are  sent  forth 
as  ministering  spirits  in  attendance  upon  the  heirs 
of  salvation.  On  a  higher  scale  still,  angels  of 
distinguished  aspect  and  power  are  valiantly  con- 
tending with  Satan's  mightiest  ruling  forces,  to 
checkmate  their  shrewdest  wiles  and  most  danger- 
ous strategies.  While  Satan  is  "deceiving  the  na- 
tions" right  along,  and  causing  many  of  them  with 
most  pious  pretences  to  be  building  directly  con- 
trary to  Christ  and  His  kingdom,  yet  history  is 
but  the  unfolding  of  divine  prophecy  and  the  ful- 
filling of  the  "works  of  God  [which]  are  known 
unto  Him  since  the  foundation  of  the  world." 

Our  present  passage  very  clearly  shows  that 
these  principles  hold  strictly  good  in  the  case  of 
Israel,  at  least.  What  is  brought  to  light  in  this 
Scripture  pertains  altogether  to  Daniel's  people. 
It  is  evident  that  the  prince  of  Persia  was  es- 
pecially opposed  to  having  this  message  delivered 
to  Daniel ;  because  it  was  a  decree  of  God  of  great- 
est importance  concerning  Israel  which,  if  once  it 
could  be  delivered  to  and  through  the  prophet,  this 
prince  well  knew  was  sure  to  come  to  pass  in  its 
time.  It  is  most  interesting  to  see  what  mighty 
angelic  beings  God  employs  in  Israel's  affairs  and 
interests,  even  while  Israel  is  under  God's  ban. 

In  this  connection  the  expressions  of  10:  21 
and  11 :  1  are  especially  impressive.  The  angel 
speaks  of  Michael — whom  he  had  called  in  verse 
13  "one  of  the  chief  princes,"  i.  e.,  one  of  God's 
archangels — as  "Michael  your  prince,"  i.  e.,  as 
the  immediate  heavenly  prince  over  Israel.     The 


DANIEL'S  LAST  VISION  181 

angel  informs  Daniel  that  this  Michael  holds  with 
himself  in  "these  things"  relating  to  Daniel's  peo- 
ple. He  further  adds  that  he  himself  "stood  to 
confirm  and  strengthen"  Michael  in  the  first  year 
of  Darius  the  Mede.  That  is,  at  the  time  when 
God  was  overthrowing  the  Babylonian  Empire, 
which  held  Israel  with  iron  grasp,  and  was  set- 
ting up  the  Medo-Persian  Empire,  which,  as  we 
have  seen,  was  so  signally  to  favor  the  Jewish  ex- 
iles in  their  release,  in  their  rescue  from  Haman's 
plot,  and  in  their  restoration  to  Statehood — there 
was  a  mighty  conflict  over  these  matters  in  the 
skies;  and  even  the  archangel  Michael  had  such 
strong  opposition  to  frustrate  as  to  require  the  aid 
of  this  other  mighty  angel,  presumably  Gabriel. 
No  doubt  this  partial  lifting  of  the  curtain  of  the 
aerial  sphere  at  this  time,  was  to  prepare  Daniel 
the  better  to  comprehend  the  superintending  agen- 
cies of  the  great  historic  drama  which  was  fore- 
tokened by  his  last  vision,  and  which  the  angel  was 
preparing  to  elucidate  to  him.  And  we  also  are 
to  bear  these  things  in  mind  when  we  follow  the 
angel's  interpretation. 

Before  passing  on,  however,  we  may  appropri- 
ately apply  what  we  have  just  been  considering  to 
the  momentous  events  of  the  last  three  years, 
1914-1917.  How  bewitched,  how  deceived,  how 
satanized,  the  nations  of  Christendom  and  other 
parts  of  the  world  are  today!  No  wonder  that 
hopes  of  universal  peace,  confidence  in  twentieth 
century  civilization,  reliance  upon  the  maxim  that 
the  way  to  keep  the  peace  is  to  be  prepared  for 


i82  THE  BOOK  OF  DANIEL 

war,  boasting  of  what  Christianity  has  done  for 
western  nations — all  are  scattered  to  the  breeze,  if 
we  look  no  higher  for  inspiring  causes  of  war 
than  this  earth  and  the  nations  themselves !  The 
inspiring  cause  sits  laughing  in  the  skies.  What 
a  triumph  for  hell-doomed  hosts  of  darkness ! 

But  the  very  fact  that  history  has  known  noth- 
ing like  it  in  any  respect  proves,  not  only  that  the 
devil  is  having  a  red-letter  day,  but  also  that 
something  of  unusual  significance  is  transpiring 
in  the  furtherance  of  God's  eternal  counsels. 
Could  we  but  look  into  the  skies  and  trace  the 
titanic  grapple  of  supreme  forces  of  darkness  and 
of  light,  we  certainly  would  be  looking  less  to  puny 
man  and  commenting  less  upon  man's  prowess  or 
his  mistakes.  Could  we  but  possess  the  divine 
''clue  to  the  maze,"  how  much  more  poised  and 
intelligent  would  be  our  prayers!  But,  in  the 
light  of  all  the  revelations  of  Daniel  thus  far,  we 
feel  strongly  impressed  that  we  are  in  the  transi- 
tion from  "latter  days"  to  "last  days."  And  we 
cannot  fail  to  conclude  that  a  struggle,  which  in- 
volves the  whole  western  territory  of  the  imperial 
world  of  Daniel — just  where  the  Jews  are  at  pres- 
ent mostly  located;  so  that,  as  never  before,  they 
are  having  to  slaughter  each  other  without  any 
cause  excepting  that  warring  Gentile  lords  com- 
pel them  to  do  so — must  have  chief  significance  in 
relation  to  the  furtherance  of  those  final  purposes 
of  God  with  reference  to  His  ancient  people,  which 
purposes  this  book  of  Daniel  so  wondrously  un- 
folds. 


XI 
DANIEL'S  LAST  VISION  CONTINUED 

2  And  now  will  I  shew  thee  the  truth. 

With  these  words  the  angel  proceeds  to  the 
interpretation  of  the  vision  and  opens  up,  first, 
what  we  have  seen  to  be — 

Part  2 — Background  of,   or  Approach  to,  the 
Vision  Proper,  11:  2-35. 

.  .  .  Behold,  there  shall  stand  up  yet  three  kings  in  Persia; 
and  the  fourth  shall  be  far  richer  than  they  all:  and  by 
his  strength  through  his  riches,  he  shall  stir  up  all  against 
the  realm  of  Grecia.  3  And  a  mighty  king  shall  stand  up, 
that  shall  rule  with  great  dominion,  and  do  according  to 
his  will.  4  And  when  he  shall  stand  up,  his  kingdom 
shall  be  broken,  and  shall  be  divided  toward  the  four 
winds  of  heaven ;  and  not  to  his  posterity,  nor  according  to 
his  dominion  which  he  ruled:  for  his  kingdom  shall  be 
plucked  up,  even  for  others  besides  those. 

Coming  Rise  or  the  Grecian  Empire. — 
The  angel  speaks  from  the  chronological  stand- 
point of  10:  1,  ''the  third  year  of  Cyrus  king  of 
Persia" — 533  B.  C.  He  introduces  three  suc- 
ceeding Persian  rulers  in  order  to  make  particular 
mention  of  the  fourth.  This  one  was  to  be  dis- 
tinguished by  unprecedented  wealth,  by  means  of 
which  he  was  to  make  an  imposing  invasion 
''against  the  realm  of  Grecia."  Thereupon  "a 
mighty   king   shall   stand   up,"   evidently   from 

183 


i84  THE  BOOK  OF  DANIEL 

Grecia  and  in  requital  of  this  invasion.  In  his 
retaliatory  campaign  he  is  seen  to  succeed  won- 
drously;  for  he  shall  "rule  with  dominion  and  do 
according  to  his  will."  This  clearly  represents 
that  this  mighty  king  of  Grecia  was  to  make  com- 
plete, undisputed  conquest  of  his  enemy's  terri- 
tory and  convert  it  all  into  a  Grecian  Empire. 
But  verse  4  represents  him  as  coming  to  a  sudden, 
untimely  end,  leaving  his  empire  to  fall  into  four 
divisions — eastern,  western,  southern  and  north- 
ern. These  four  were  to  come  under  rulers  out- 
side the  line  of  the  conqueror,  and  the  empire  was 
to  be  the  weaker  for  this  partition. 

We  recall  that,  by  the  vision  of  chapter  8,  Dan- 
iel had  already  been  shown  that  Grecia  was  to 
follow  Medo-Persia  as  the  third  of  the  four  great 
successive  world-empires.  Under  this  light  Dan- 
iel must  have  understood  the  portion  of  the  angel's 
sketch  of  the  future  now  before  us  as  portraying 
the  rise  of  the  Grecian  Empire.  And  in  10:  20 
a  word  was  dropped  by  the  angel  which  should  be 
taken  account  of  here:  ''And  now  I  will  return 
to  fight  with  the  prince  of  Persia :  and  when  I  am 
gone  forth,  lo,  the  prince  of  Grecia  shall  come." 
While  all  that  the  angel  may  have  implied  by  the 
last  sentence  of  the  quotation  is  not  evident  to  us, 
yet  this  much  we  can  see:  the  satanic  vice-regent 
of  the  existing  kingdom  of  Grecia  and  of  the  fu- 
ture Grecian  Empire  was  already  occupying  that 
important  position,  and  he  was  sufficiently  busy  to 
call  for  the  counteracting  operations  of  God's  an- 
gelic watchman. 


LAST  VISION  CONTINUED        185 

From  our  present  historical  position  the  angel's 
outline  of  coming  events  is  easily  convertible  into 
historical  identification.  The  Persian  rulers  who 
were  to  succeed  the  existing  ruler,  Cyrus,  were 
Cambyses  (529-522),  Pseudo-Smerdis  (522- 
521),  and  Darius  Hystaspes  (521-485).  The 
fourth  and  fabulously  rich  king  was  Xerxes 
(485-465).  Soon  after  his  accession  to  the 
throne,  he  amassed  an  army  of  one  million  men, 
it  is  said,  besides  a  navy  of  twelve  hundred  ships, 
with  which  he  made  a  determined  invasion  of 
Greece.  The  famous  battle  of  Thermopylae  be- 
longs to  this  epoch  of  history.  The  naval  battle 
at  Salamis — 480  B.  C. — resulted  in  decisive  de- 
feat to  Xerxes,  who  retreated  in  fright  and  cha- 
grin to  his  own  country.  Several  Persian  rulers 
succeeded  him ;  but  no  retaliatory  blow  was  struck 
against  Persia  for  about  a  century  and  a  half, 
when  Alexander  of  Macedon  executed  the  sum- 
mary revenge  described  by  the  angel. 

We  see  that  the  vision  follows  a  line  of  logical 
perspective — rather  than  chronological — from  the 
invasion  of  Greece  by  Xerxes  to  the  conquest  of 
Persia  by  Alexander  the  Great.  Salamis  really 
foredoomed  the  Persian  Empire.  Alexander  be- 
gan a  lightning-like  invasion  of  Asia  at  about 
twenty  years  of  age.  In  about  a  dozen  years  he 
had  swept  all  Asia  to  the  confines  of  India,  in- 
flicting the  final  blow  against  Persia  in  331  B.  C. 
It  is  said  that  he  wept  for  more  kingdoms  to  con- 
quer; but  his  career  suddenly  ended  at  less  than 
thirty-three  years  of  age  from  an  excessive  ca- 


i86  THE  BOOK  OF  DANIEL 

rouse.  He  left  his  empire  in  confusion,  out  of 
which  during  the  succeeding  20  years  it  emerged  in 
the  four  kingdoms  of  Egypt,  Syria,  Chaldea  and 
Greece,  but  without  its  former  power  and  with 
none  of  Alexander's  kin  sharing  the  rule. 

We  return  now  from  our  present  historical  po- 
sition to  Daniel's  position;  and  we  will  pursue 
the  prophetic  perspective,  remembering  that  Dan- 
iel did  not  know  the  exact  territories  or  persons 
which  loom  up  in  view.  Neither  do  we,  to  begin 
with.  Such  knowledge  was  not  and  is  not  neces- 
sary as  a  condition  of  clear  light.  The  prophecy 
consists  as  prophecy  in  being  itself  the  clear  reve- 
lation of  coming,  predetermined  events.  Daniel 
did  not  need  to  know  dates  or  geographical  and 
personal  names;  neither  do  we.  The  historical 
events  are  not  the  revelation  or  the  interpretation 
of  the  prophecy;  they  are  only  its  fulfilment,  its 
identification.  The  historic  events  derive  their 
light  from  the  prophecy,  not  the  prophecy  from 
the  events. 

The  writer  takes  it  for  granted  that  the  reader 
followed  the  request  made  early  in  the  last  chap- 
ter, that  Chapters  10-12  should  be  read  through 
carefully  in  advance,  to  see  that  they  fall  into 
three  parts  as  the  writer  has  since  designated, 
Accordingly  the  reader  can  readily  take  in  what 
is  now  to  be  said  as  preliminary  to  the  perusal  of 
verses  5-35. 

Inasmuch  as  the  angel  declared  to  Daniel  that 
the  purport  of  the  vision  revealed  what  was  to  be- 
fall the  prophet's  people  in  the  latter  days,  it  is 


LAST  VISION  CONTINUED         187 

plain  that  Part  I — consisting  of  10:  4-11:  1  and 
constituting  a  mere  introduction  of  the  whole — 
does  not  belong  to  the  vision  proper ;  and  we  have 
called  the  section  now  under  treatment,  viz.,  Part 
II,  the  background  of,  or  approach  to,  the  vision 
proper.  We  did  so  because,  upon  reading  the 
whole  through,  we  found  that  this  part  betrays  no 
feature  of  latter  day  times.  It  would  not  be  put 
before  us,  however,  excepting  as  it  belongs  in- 
tegrally to  the  line  of  perspective  focusing  upon 
the  latter  days.  The  verses  of  this  part  which  we 
have  already  examined  clearly  do  not  fall  within 
the  vision  of  latter  day  events.  And  yet,  do  they 
not  fall  in  the  line  of  perspective  of  the  latter 
days  ?  For  it  is  to  be  remembered  that  we  learned 
in  chapter  8,  that  the  four  kingdoms  into  which 
the  Grecian  Empire  was  divided  are  to  have  a 
^'latter  time"  of  their  kingdom  (8:  23) ;  and  that 
the  last  great  ruler  and  oppressor  of  Israel  is  to 
come  forth  out  of  one  of  those  kingdoms  in  their 
latter  time. 

The  further  and  main  portion  of  Part  II  will 
now  be  taken  up.  It  should  be  conclusively  ap- 
parent that  it  does  not,  any  more  than  verses  2-4, 
belong  to  the  vision  proper,  and  yet  that  just  as 
clearly  it  falls  into  the  line  of  perspective  center- 
ing upon  the  last  days. 

(The  italic  type  indicates  the  text  of  verses  5- 
35.) 

5  And  the  king  of  the  south — one  of  these  four 
divisions  of  the  original  Grecian  Empire — shall 


i88  THE  BOOK  OF  DANIEL 

he  strong,  and  one  of  his  princes.  That  is,  there 
shall  first  be  a  powerful  king  over  the  south,  who 
shall  have  also  a  very  strong  prince  subordinate 
to  him.  And  he,  this  prince,  shall  be,  or  become, 
strong  above  him,  the  king  of  the  south,  and  have 
dominion;  that  is,  the  prince  shall  become  the 
head  of  one  of  the  four  dominions  in  question,  and 
he  shall  be  mightier  than  the  king  of  the  south;  his 
dominion  shall  be  a  great  dominion.  6  And  in 
the  end  of  years,  or  after  some  years,  they  shall 
join  themselves  together;  for  the  king's  daughter 
of  the  south  shall  come  to  the  king  of  the  north 
(here  the  location  of  this  second  kingdom  first  ap- 
pears) to  make  an  agreement,  or  political  alliance, 
presumably  through  the  marriage  of  this  daughter 
of  the  southern  king  with  the  northern  king ;  but 
she  shall  not  retain  the  power  of  the  arm :  neither 
shall  he  stand,  nor  his  arm :  but  she  shall  be  given 
up,  presumably  divorced,  and  they  that  brought 
her  (very  likely  politicians  at  the  king  of  the 
north's  court  who  brought  about  this  arrange- 
ment), and  he  that  begat  her,  and  he  that  strength- 
ened her  in  these  times.  The  entire  piece  of 
diplomacy  on  the  part  of  the  southern  king  in  rela- 
tion to  his  stronger  rival  ends  in  fatal  disaster  at 
all  points. 

7  But  out  of  a  branch  of  her  roots,  a  fraternal 
line  from  the  same  father,  shall  one  stand  up  in 
his  estate,  arise  in  the  place  of  the  former  king  of 
the  south,  which  shall  come  with  an  army,  and 
shall  enter  into  the  fortress  of  the  king  of  the 
north,  and  shall  deal  against  them,  and  shall  pre- 


LAST  VISION  CONTINUED        189 

vail:  8  And  shall  carry  captives  into  Egypt 
(here  it  is  betrayed  that  the  southern  kingdom  is 
Egypt)  their  gods,  the  gods  of  the  king  of  the 
north,  with  their  princes,  and  with  their  precious 
vessels  of  silver  and  of  gold :  and  he,  this  victori- 
ous king  of  Egypt,  shall  continue  more  years  than 
the  king  of  the  north,  shall  outlive  the  reign  of  his 
rival.  9  So  the  king  of  the  south,  Egypt,  shall 
come  into  his  kingdom,  i.  e.,  shall  come  not  only 
*'into  the  fortress  of  the  king  of  the  north"  (verse 
7),  but  into  his  very  kingdom,  and  shall  return 
triumphantly  into  his  own  land.  10  But  his 
sons,  the  sons  of  the  king  of  the  north,  shall  be 
stirred  up,  after  their  father's  defeat  and  death, 
and  shall  assemble  a  multitude  of  great  forces: 
and  one,  of  these  sons,  shall  certainly  come,  and 
overflow,  and  pass  through  toward  Egypt:  then 
shall  he  return,  on  a  new  expedition,  and  be 
stirred  up  to  greater  advance  than  before,  even  to 
his,  the  king  of  Egypt's,  fortress,  or  main  frontier 
defence. 

11  And  the  king  of  the  south  shall  be  moved 
with  choler,  and  shall  come  forth  and  fight  with 
him,  even  with  the  king  of  the  north :  and  he,  the 
king  of  the  north,  shall  set  forth  a  great  multitude : 
hut  the  multitude  shall  be  given  into  his  hand,  the 
hand  of  the  king  of  Egypt.  12  And  when  he 
hath  taken  away  the  multitude,  captive,  his  heart 
shall  be  lifted  up,  with  pride  and  recklessness; 
and  he  shall  cast  down  many  ten  thousands :  but 
he  shall  not  be  strengthened  by  it,  all  his  success 
shall  fail  of  permanent  profit  to  him.     13  For 


igo  THE  BOOK  OF  DANIEL 

the  king  of  the  north  shall  return,  and  shall  set 
forth  a  multitude  greater  than  the  former,  one, 
and  shall  certainly  come,  against  Egypt,  after  cer- 
tain years  with  a  great  army  and  with  much  riches. 

14  And  in  those  times  there  shall  many  stand 
up,  in  revolt,  against  the  king  of  the  south:  also 
the  robbers  of  thy  people,  the  turbulent  elements 
of  Daniel's  people,  the  Jews,  shall  exalt  them- 
selves to  establish  the  vision;  they  shall  prove 
treacherous  to  Egypt  in  order  to  bring  about  their 
own  deluding  vision;  but  they  shall  fall,  they 
shall  procure  their  own  destruction.  15  kSo  the 
king  of  the  north  shall  come,  against  Egypt,  and 
cast  up  a  mount,  and  take  the  most  fenced  cities, 
the  most  strongly  fortified  cities :  and  the  arms  of 
the  south  shall  not  withstand,  neither  his  chosen 
people,  neither  shall  there  be  any  strength  to  with- 
stand. 16  But  he  that  cometh  against  him  shall 
do  according  to  his  own  will,  and  none  shall  stand 
before  him:  and  he  shall  stand  in  the  glorious 
land,  he  shall  invade  in  passing  the  Holy  Land, 
which  by  his  hand  shall  be  consumed.  This  was 
to  be  the  reward  for  the  rebellious  treachery  of  the 
Jews  just  mentioned. 

1 7  He,  the  king  of  the  north,  shall  also  set  his 
face  to  enter,  Egypt,  with  the  strength  of  his  whole 
kingdom,  and  upright  ones  with  him  (Marg., 
"equitable  conditions,"  i.  e.,  with  deceitful  prof- 
fers of  fair  conditions.  This  seems  to  mean  that 
the  king  of  the  north  will  try  his  very  best  to  get  a 
dominant  hand  upon  the  very  lever  of  the  king- 
dom of  Egypt  by  plausible  overtures) ;  thus  shall 


LAST  VISION  CONTINUED        191 

he  do,  this  is  the  way  he  will  try  to  reach  his  end : 
and  he  shall  give  him,  the  king  of  the  south,  the 
daughter  of  women,  the  chief  princess  of  the 
northern  kingdom,  corrupting  her,  to  effect  his  de- 
signs :  hut  she  shall  not  stand  on  his  side,  her  own 
father's  part,  neither  he  for  him.  18  After  this, 
having  failed  in  his  scheme  just  mentioned,  shall 
he  turn  his  face  unto  the  isles,  of  the  Mediter- 
ranean, in  the  sphere  of  Roman  power,  and  shall 
take  many:  hut  a  prince  for  his  own  hehalf,  pro- 
tecting his  own  interests  in  the  Mediterranean, 
shall  cause  the  reproach  offered  by  him,  the  in- 
vader, to  cease:  without  his  own  reproach  he  shall 
cause  it  to  turn  upon  him,  i.  e.,  the  western  prince 
shall  cause  the  invader's  insult  to  turn  against 
himself.  19  Then  he,  the  invader,  shall  turn  his 
face,  in  hot  retreat,  toward  the  fort  of  his  own 
land:  hut  he  shall  stumhle  and  fall,  and  not  he 
found,  disappearing  unaccountably. 

20  Then  shall  stand  up  in  his  estate,  arise  in 
the  room  of  the  king  of  the  north,  a  raiser  of  taxes 
in  the  glory  of  the  kingdom:  that  is,  the  succeed- 
ing king  will  have  heavy  tribute  to  raise  as  a  result 
of  his  predecessor's  defeat  by  the  western  prince; 
and  he  will  undertake  to  mulct  the  Holy  Land  for 
this  tribute:  hut  within  few  days  he  shall  he  de- 
stroyed, neither  in  anger,  assassination  for  his  ac- 
tion, nor  in  hattle,  with  attacking  troops,  but  by 
some  mysterious  judgment. 

21  And  in  his  estate,  succeeding  him,  shall 
stand  up  a  vile  person,  ignoble  in  character  and  in 
rank,  to  whom  they  shall  not  give  the  honour  of  the 


192  THE  BOOK  OF  DANIEL 

kingdom,  to  whom  they  shall  not  give  the  crown 
by  right  and  with  public  acclaim:  but  he  shall 
come  in  peaceably,  in  a  time  of  unwatchfulness 
and  non-resistance,  and  obtain  the  kingdom  by 
flatteries.  22  And  with  the  arms  of  a  flood  shall 
they,  whoever  afterwards  seek  to  thwart  him,  be 
overfloivn  from  before  him,  and  shall  be  broken: 
yea,  also  the  prince  of  the  covenant,  the  High 
Priest  of  the  Jews.  23  And  after  the  league 
made  with  him,  as  recognized  head,  he  shall  work 
deceitfully:  for  he  shall  come  up,  and  shall  be- 
come strong  with  a  small  people.  24  He  shall 
enter  peaceably  even  upon  the  fattest  places  of  the 
provinces:  and  he  shall  do  that  which  his  fathers 
have  not  done,  nor  his  fathers'  fathers:  he  shall 
scatter  among  them,  the  provinces  through  which 
he  progresses,  the  prey,  which  he  takes  along  his 
way,  and  spoil,  and  riches;  i.  e.,  he  will  make 
headway  by  lavish  use  in  one  province  of  the  booty 
taken  in  another:  yea,  and  he  shall  forecast  his 
devices  against  the  strong  holds,  he  shall  lay  his 
plans  to  capture  the  strong  holds  of  the  historic 
rival  of  the  south,  even  for  a  time,  until  a  ripe  time 
for  determined  attack. 

25  And  he  shall  stir  up  his  power  and  his  cour- 
age against  the  king  of  the  south  with  a  great 
army:  and  the  king  of  the  south  shall  be  stirred 
up  to  battle,  with  him,  with  a  very  great  and 
mighty  army:  but  he,  the  king  of  the  south,  shall 
not  stand:  for  they,  his  trusted  ones,  shall  forecast 
devices  against  him.  26  Yea,  they  that  feed  of 
the  portion  of  his  meat  shall  destroy  him,  the  king 


LAST  VISION  CONTINUED        193 

of  the  south,  and  his  army,  the  king  of  the  north's, 
shall  overflow:  and  many,  of  the  southern  army, 
shall  fall  down  slain.  27  And  both  these  kings' 
hearts  shall  be  to  do  mischief,  to  one  another,  and 
they  shall  speak  lies,  to  one  another,  at  one  table, 
of  professed  conference:  but  it  shall  not  prosper: 
for  yet  the  end,  of  this  menace  to  Egypt,  shall  be 
at  the  time  appointed,  in  the  providence  of  God. 

28  Then  shall  he,  the  king  of  the  north,  return 
into  his  own  land  with  great  riches :  and  his  heart 
shall  be  against  the  holy  covenant,  the  people  of 
God's  holy  covenant,  the  Jews:  and  he  shall  do 
exploits,  dastardly  exploits  against  the  Jews,  and 
return  to  his  own  land.  29  At  the  time  ap- 
pointed, in  God's  purpose,  he  shall  return,  and 
come  toward  the  south:  but  it  shall  not  be,  with 
him  in  success,  as  the  former,  the  first  campaign, 
or  as  the  latter,  campaign.  30  For  the  ships  of 
Chittim  shall  come  against  him,  ships  from  the 
western  power  of  the  Mediterranean :  therefore  he 
shall  be  grieved,  chagrined  and  enraged,  being 
frustrated  just  at  the  point  of  complete  success, 
and  return,  homeward,  and  have  indignation,  vent 
his  indignation,  against  the  holy  covenant,  i.  e., 
the  people  in  holy  covenant  with  God,  the  Jews: 
so  shall  he  do :  he  shall  even  return,  a  second  time, 
and  have  intelligence,  a  treacherous  understand- 
ing, with  them  that  forsake  the  holy  covenant,  the 
renegade  Jews.  31  And  arms,  armed  forces  of 
faithless  Jews,  shall  stand  on  his  part,  and  they 
shall  pollute  the  sanctuary  of  strength,  of  God,  the 
Strength  of  Israel,  and  shall  take  away  the  daily 


194  THE  BOOK  OF  DANIEL 

sacrifice,  and  they  shall  place  the  abomination  of 
desolation  that  maketh  desolate.  This  describes 
the  suspension  of  the  daily  burnt  offering  at  the 
Jewish  Temple  and  a  most  outrageous  defilement 
of  the  sanctuary. 

32  And  such  as  do  wickedly  against  the  cove- 
nant, Jews  who  shall  defy  every  sanctity  and  loyal 
obligation,  shall  he  corrupt  by  flatteries,  pervert 
from  their  faith  and  loyalty  by  flatteries:  but  the 
people  that  do  know  their  God  shall  be  strong, 
and  do  exploits.  The  result  of  this  malign  flat- 
terer's doings  was  to  create  an  effectual  cleavage 
between  hypocritical  Jews  and  the  real  God-fear- 
ing believers  who  were  to  accomplish  unparalleled 
achievements  of  faith.  2>?>  And  they  that  under- 
stand among  the  people  shall  instruct  many :  there 
shall  be  among  the  people  those  of  deep  spiritual 
understanding  and  of  keen  insight  into  God's 
Word  for  the  hour — especially  into  this  very  part 
of  Daniel — and  they  shall  instruct  many  receptive 
inquirers:  yet  they,  whether  teachers  or  taught, 
shall  fall  by  the  sword,  and  by  flame,  by  captivity, 
and  by  spoil,  many  days.  What  a  time  of  separa- 
ting the  wheat  from  the  chaff  and  of  winnowing 
the  wheat!  34  Now  when  they  shall  fall  they 
shall  be  holpen  with  a  little  help :  but  many  shall 
cleave  unto  them  with  flatteries.  The  fires  will 
have,  therefore,  to  burn  yet  hotter.  35  And  some 
of  them  of  understanding  shall  fall,  to  try  them, 
"to  make  a  purification  among  them"  (Leeser), 
to  refine  the  believing  company  from  every  evil 
admixture,  and  to  purge,  the  believers  of  all  alloy. 


LAST  VISION  CONTINUED        195 

and  to  make  them  whiter  as  with  fuller's  soap, 
even  to  the  time  of  the  end:  because  it  is  yet  for  a 
time  appointed.  This  closing  part  of  the  verse 
(and  of  the  closing  part  of  this  description)  may 
be  taken,  in  a  cursory  understanding,  as  indicat- 
ing the  continuance  of  this  baptism  of  fire  until 
an  appointed  end.  But  to  the  writer  there  seems 
to  be  a  deeper  and  truer  sense,  which  can  be  con- 
veyed by  reading  the  words  thus :  to  try  them,  and 
to  purge,  and  to  make  them  white,  with  respect  to 
the  time  of  the  end — as  prototypes  of  the  purified 
remnant  of  the  last  days :  because  this  type  is  yet 
for  an  appointed  time,  the  last  days. 

It  seems  very  clear  that  verses  5-35  trace  in 
vision  a  continuous  history  of  the  rivalry  between 
the  northern  and  southern  divisions  of  the  quater- 
nate  empire  already  introduced.  If  so,  we  should 
find  that  the  history  of  Egypt  and  Syria,  subse- 
quently to  Alexander  the  Great's  death,  answered 
perfectly  to  this  panorama.  Is  such  the  case? 
The  parallelism  is  so  perfect,  that  rationalism 
early  assailed  the  authenticity  of  Daniel  on  the 
very  ground  that  such  a  replica  of  the  history  of 
Egypt  and  Syria  in  relation  to  one  another — from 
their  first  emergence  as  divisions  of  the  Grecian 
Empire  down  to  and  including  the  reign  of  Anti- 
ochus  Epiphanes,  about  a  century  and  an  half  in 
all — could  not  have  been  foreseen  and  foreshown 
by  any  mind.  And  the  same  type  of  rationalism, 
called  Higher  Criticism — a  traitor  in  the  very 
camp  of  the  saints — audaciously  and  insistently 
dates  the  authorship  of  Daniel  in  the  second  cen- 


196  THE  BOOK  OF  DANIEL 

tury  B.  C,  and  subsequent  to  the  reign  of  Anti- 
ochus  Epiphanes.  But  we  will  now  reproduce 
this  prediction  from  the  authentic  pages  of  its  his- 
toric fulfilment. 

Ptolemy  Soter  was  the  first  one  of  Alexander's 
captains  to  gain  control  of  a  partition  of  the  em- 
pire. He  was  the  first  "king  of  the  south" — 
Egypt  (vs.  5).  Seleucus  Nicator,  ''one  of  his 
princes" — who  was  first  made  prince  of  the  pro- 
vince of  Babylonia  and  then  ousted  from  it — 
proved  strong  enough  to  acquire  the  dominion  of 
Babylonia;  from  thence  he  stretched  westward 
and  founded  for  himself  the  great  kingdom  of 
Syria  (vs.  5).  These  two  kingdoms  sought  to 
establish  an  affinity  (vs.  6)  by  means  of  a  scan- 
dalous marriage  of  Berenice,  the  daughter  of 
Ptolemy  Philadelphus,  the  second  king  of  Egypt, 
with  Antiochus  Theos,  King  of  Syria,  who  put 
away  Laodice  his  wife  for  this  purpose.  But  the 
issue  of  this  hideous  affair  was  bloody  and  endless 
conflict.  Berenice  lost  her  place  and  was  poi- 
soned, as  was  also  her  offspring.  Laodice  was 
taken  back. 

A  successor  to  the  Egyptian  throne,  probably 
Ptolemy  Euergetes,  a  brother  of  Berenice,  invaded 
the  northern  kingdom,  took  the  royal  fortress,  and 
prevailed  everywhere,  carrying  away  "4,000  tal- 
ents of  gold,  40,000  talents  of  silver,  and  2,500 
idols  and  idolatrous  vessels"  (vss.  7,  8).  After 
this,  conflict  ceased  for  some  years.  An  ineffec- 
tual attempt  to  retaliate  was  made  by  Seleucus  II 
(vs.  9).     After  his  death,  however,  one  of  his  two 


LAST  VISION  CONTINUED        197 

sons  rose  to  such  power  and  prowess  as  to  assail 
successfully  Egypt's  fortress  Gaza  (vs.  10). 

This  at  last  aroused  Philopator,  the  easy-going 
king  of  Egypt,  to  intense  indignation  (vs.  11). 
A  momentous  engagement  ensued  between  him 
and  Antiochus  III,  or  the  Great,  with  signal  de- 
feat to  the  latter.  This  decisive  battle  was  fought 
near  Gaza;  but,  because  of  Philopator's  love  of 
ease  history  says,  he  failed  to  follow  up  his  ad- 
vantage (vs.  12).  After  some  years  of  conspicu- 
ous progress  in  the  north  and  of  decay  in  the 
south,  Antiochus  of  Syria  made  another  and  more 
formidable  invasion  of  Egypt  (vs.  13).  He  was 
assisted  by  general  revolts  against  Egypt  (vs.  14). 
Here  was  the  point  where  seditious  Jews  intermed- 
dled. They  apostatized  from  their  obligations  to 
Egypt  and  to  God,  revolted  to  the  standards  of 
Antiochus  as  a  fine  piece  of  policy,  which,  of 
course,  would  be  doomed  by  God  to  failure  (vs. 
14). 

Antiochus  then  successfully  besieged  the  well 
fortified  and  stubbornly  defended  city  of  Sidon, 
which  was  Egypt's  most  prized  northern  strong- 
hold (vs.  15).  Antiochus  swept  on  southward 
and  was  welcomed  in  the  Holy  Land ;  but  he  car- 
ried concealed  in  his  hand  the  castigation  of  the 
Jews  (vs.  16).  The  next  year  he  renewed  his 
conquest  with  increased  preparation  and  with  ex- 
tra success  (vs.  17)  ;  but  because  of  Roman  inter- 
ference he  changed  his  warlike  purpose  to  one  of 
diplomacy,  and  he  offered  his  young  daughter 
Cleopatra  in  marriage  to  the  new  Ptolemy,  a  mere 


198  THE  BOOK  OF  DANIEL 

lad  in  years.  The  object  of  this  crafty  arrange- 
ment was  to  engage  her  in  intrigue  in  favor  of 
Syria;  but  she  failed  her  father  in  this  policy  (vs. 
17). 

In  revenge  Antiochus  then  turned  his  conquests 
against  the  isles  of  the  Mediterranean  Sea  (vs. 
18)  and  seized  many  of  them.  This,  however, 
brought  vigorous  resistance  from  Rome;  an  able 
general,  Scipio  Asiaticus,  rebuked  the  indignity  of 
Antiochus  and  turned  it  decisively  back  upon  his 
impudent  head  (vs.  18).  Antiochus  fled  from 
one  fortress  to  another  (vs.  19);  but  he  was 
brought  to  a  halt  and  put  under  heavy  terms  of 
tribute.  In  attempting  to  plunder  a  temple  he  was 
slain  (vs.  19). 

Seleucus  Philopator,  the  successor  to  the  throne 
of  Syria,  inherited  the  heavy  burden  of  tribute, 
and  in  endeavoring  to  meet  it  he  sent  "an  exactor" 
to  confiscate  the  treasures  of  the  Jewish  temple; 
but  he  was  soon  mysteriously  put  out  of  the  way 
(vs.  20).  His  successor  was  not  the  lawful  heir, 
as  there  was  a  son  of  Seleucus  Philopator;  and 
another  person,  a  son  of  Cleopatra  and  grandson 
of  Antiochus  the  Great,  was  strongly  supported  as 
claimant.  But,  owing  to  intrigue  and  political 
favor,  the  young  brother  of  Seleucus  was  ac- 
corded the  throne,  though  without  its  honors  (vs. 
21). 

This  person  was  Antiochus  Epiphanes  (175- 
164  B.  C),  the  "contemptible"  as  history  denomi- 
nates him.  "He  was  given  up  to  the  most  de- 
graded and  unnatural  passions ;  he  was  unscrupu- 


LAST  VISION  CONTINUED        199 

lous,  cruel,  and  of  a  savage  temper;  he  delighted 
in  the  company  of  the  lowest  and  basest  of  men, 
and  was  most  uncertain  in  his  conduct ;  but  yet  he 
was  deficient  neither  in  courage,  nor  in  cunning 
ability."  By  means  of  allies  he  swept  resistance 
from  before  him  (vs.  22)  and  very  early  dealt  his 
first  malignant  blow  upon  God's  people  by  depos- 
ing the  High  Priest  Onias,  who  was  also  mur- 
dered and  succeeded  by  a  mercenary  and  heathen- 
izing High  Priest,  named  Jason.  By  truce-break- 
ing measures  Antiochus  advanced  his  strength  (vs. 
23),  although  with  small  resources  of  his  own. 
He  went  on  to  appropriate  peaceably  neighboring 
provinces  by  exhibiting  an  unprecedented  generos- 
ity in  dispensing  his  easily-gotten  riches  (vs.  24). 
This  was  all  to  the  end  of  reaching  the  strong- 
holds of  his  Egyptian  rival  (vs.  24). 

In  due  time  Antiochus  exerted  a  great  effort  to 
conquer  Egypt  (vs.  25).  Although  the  king  of 
the  south  made  a  most  formidable  resistance,  yet, 
largely  owing  to  the  treachery  of  his  most  intimate 
and  trusted  associates,  he  succumbed  to  Antiochus 
(vs.  26).  Ptolemy  fell  into  the  hands  of  Antio- 
chus, who  made  politic  and  lying  terms  with  him 
(vs.  27),  which  by  divine  appointment  failed  of 
their  purpose.  Returning  northward  laden  with 
spoils  of  Egypt,  Antiochus  turned  aside  on  some 
pretext  and  ''assailed  Jerusalem;  he  slew  40,000 
of  the  inhabitants,  sold  as  many  more  for  slaves, 
and  plundered  the  temple,  carrying  off  treasures  to 
the  value  of  1800  talents";  after  which  he  com- 
pleted his  homeward  journey  (vs.  28).     Antio- 


200  THE  BOOK  OF  DANIEL 

chus  later  renewed  his  plans  of  conquest  against 
Egypt  (vs.  29).  Although  he  prospered,  history 
tells  us,  up  to  the  point  of  arriving  vv^ithout  hin- 
drance within  four  miles  of  the  city  of  Alexandria, 
yet  disappointment  awaited  him ;  for  there  he  was 
met  by  the  admiral  of  a  Roman  fleet  (vs.  30)  and 
was  compelled  to  retire.  This  was  in  168  B.  C. 
Antiochus  had  to  bow  in  discouragement  before 
the  tokens  of  the  approach  of  a  new  empire  of 
the  world,  the  fourth  in  Daniel's  series.  It 
was  a  century  yet  before  the  token  was  ful- 
filled and  Rome  became  mistress  of  the  imperial 
world. 

In  returning  northward  Antiochus  made  Jeru- 
salem the  victim  of  his  rage  and  chagrin.  He  left 
there  armed  forces  to  massacre,  humiliate  and  hor- 
rify the  Jews  to  the  utmost  (vs.  31).  "The  king 
is  said  to  have  issued  a  decree  to  his  whole  king- 
dom, commanding  that  all  his  subjects  should  be 
one  people,  with  one  religion  and  with  the  same 
laws.  And,  in  order  to  enforce  this  upon  the 
Jews,  their  sanctuary  was  profaned ;  the  offerings 
and  sacrifices  were  prohibited;  and  an  idol-altar 
was  built  over  the  altar  of  Jehovah,  upon  which 
swine's  flesh  was  sacrificed,  presumably  to  an  im- 
age placed  above  the  altar.  This  was  the  abomi- 
nation of  desolation,  the  signal  that  great  wrath 
was  upon  Israel.  Idol-chapels  were  set  up  in  all 
the  cities  of  Judea,  and  the  inhabitants  were  com- 
manded to  sacrifice  and  to  burn  incense  to  the  gods 
of  Greece.  Whoever  refused,  whoever  was  found 
with  the  Book  of  the  Law  in  his  possession  or  en- 


LAST  VISION  CONTINUED        201 

deavoring  to  keep  the  law,  was  put  to  death  with- 
out mercy." 

All  this  caused  many  of  the  Jews  to  apostatize ; 
but  it  was  the  occasion  also  for  the  rise  of  heroes 
of  faith  and  valor  never  excelled  in  Jewish  history 
(vs.  32).  This  abject  degradation  of  Judea  un- 
der Antiochus  really  led  to  a  fuller  liberation  of 
the  land  and  to  a  long  period  of  greater  independ- 
ence than  had  been  enjoyed  since  Nebuchadnez- 
zar's first  capture  of  Jerusalem  in  606  B.  C. 

It  came  about  in  this  wise.  Mattathias,  an  old 
man  of  the  priestly  house  of  Asmon,  contemptu- 
ously rejected  splendid  offers  which  an  officer  of 
Antiochus  made  to  him  on  condition  of  his  joining 
the  unholy  crusade.  The  brave  patriot  flew  at  a 
renegade  Jew  who  was  in  the  act  of  sacrificing  on 
the  heathen  altar;  he  slew  both  the  Jew  and  the 
king's  commissioner,  and  pulled  down  the  altar. 
As  he  fled  he  raised  the  standard  of  revolt  with 
the  cry,  "Let  all  who  are  zealous  for  the  Law  fol- 
low me! "  The  deeds  of  this  old  hero  and  of  his 
five  sons — especially  of  Judas,  surnamed  Macca- 
baeus — by  which  the  Jewish  commonwealth  was 
restored  until  the  Roman  domination  intervened, 
constitute  the  most  heroic  page  of  Jewish  history. 

Something  more  important,  however,  than  these 
feats  of  daring  was  needed  to  maintain  a  seed  of 
adequate  vitality  for  the  future.  This  was  found 
in  a  class  of  pious  and  learned  men,  called  Maski- 
lim — the  understanding  ones.  They  were  such  as 
spiritually  understood  and  expounded  the  proph- 
ets.    What  a  light  in  that  "dark  place"  must  this 


202  THE  BOOK  OF  DANIEL 

part  of  Daniel's  vision  have  been !  But  these  de- 
voted teachers  also  brought  out  into  fresh  light 
the  great  Messianic  promises;  and  by  them  they 
nursed  a  seed  who  should  keep  on  waiting  in  fast- 
ings and  prayers,  like  Simeon  and  Anna,  for  the 
coming  of  the  greater  and  truer  ''consolation  of 
Israel." 

It  is  the  illustrious  ministry  and  success  of  these 
spiritual  luminaries  of  the  Maccabaean  days  that 
verses  33-35  emphasize.  They  are  shown  to  be 
the  connecting  link  with  the  latter  days — "the  time 
of  the  end."  In  Antiochus  Epiphanes  appeared 
a  striking  prototype  of  the  "king  of  fierce  counte- 
nance," whom  chapter  8  predicted  should  come  up 
— "in  the  latter  time  of  their  kingdom" — out  of 
one  of  the  four  kingdoms  of  the  old  Grecian  Em- 
pire which  Antiochus  tyrannized.  And  God's 
use  of  the  last  great  persecutor  of  Israel,  in  sifting 
out  the  final  remnant,  was  illustrated  in  the  crea- 
tion of  the  class  of  believers  of  those  former  days, 
who  were  purged  from  admixture  and  alloy  in  the 
fiery  heat  of  murderous  oppression,  and  who  were 
forged  into  the  finest  temper  on  the  anvil  of  alter- 
nate flattery  and  defection  on  the  part  of  trusted 
supporters. 

In  the  uplifting  to  our  view  of  this  rare  com- 
pany of  witnesses  to  the  faith,  as  the  type  of  the 
remnant  of  Israel  in  the  last  days,  we  already 
catch  sight  of  what  this  last  vision  was  given  to 
contribute  as  the  final  portion  of  the  composite 
revelation  of  the  whole  book.  As  we  enter  upon 
the  last  section — Part  III — we  will  have  our  eyes 


LAST  VISION  CONTINUED       203 

focused,  not  only  upon  the  "latter  days"  and 
"what  shall  befall  Daniel's  people  in  the  latter 
days/'  but  also  and  most  pointedly  upon  a  puri- 
fied remnant  of  Israel  which,  by  the  extreme  exi- 
gencies of  their  days,  shall  be  prepared  to  enter 
into  the  inheritance  of  the  long-promised  king- 
dom. 


XII 
DANIEL'S  LAST  VISION  CONCLUDED 
It  remains  for  us  to  study 

Part  3— The  Vision  Proper,  11 :  36— 12 :  13. 

36  And  the  king  shall  do  according  to  his  will;  and  he 
shall  exalt  himself,  and  magnify  himself  above  every  god, 
and  shall  speak  marvellous  things  against  the  God  of  gods, 
and  shall  prosper  till  the  indignation  be  accomplished :  for 
that  that  is  determined  shall  be  done. 

The  Last  and  Supreme  Persecutor  of  Is- 
rael.— A  cursory  reading  would  detect  no  refer- 
ence in  verse  35  to  the  last  days  and  no  chronolog- 
ical parenthesis  between  verses  35  and  36.  Con- 
sequently the  expression,  "and  the  king,"  would  be 
taken  as  an  immediate  continuation  of  the  history 
of  the  king  of  the  north,  the  ''vile  person"  intro- 
duced in  verse  2 1 .  But  all  the  language  following 
these  introductory  words  identifies  him  with  that 
final  persecutor  of  Israel  with  whom  we  have  been 
made  so  familiar  in  chapters  7,  8  and  9.  This  is 
why  he  is  here  introduced  as  one  already  in  mind, 
''and  the  king" — the  well-known  king,  the  Anti- 
christ who  eclipses  all  other  antichrists.  Has  he 
not  been  left  uppermost  in  mind  by  the  three  pre- 
ceding visions  ?  And  did  not  the  angel's  word,  "I 
am  come  to  make  thee  know  what  shall  befall  thy 
people  in  the  latter  days,"  put  our  minds,  as  well 

204 


LAST  VISION  CONCLUDED       205 

as  Daniel's,  on  the  qui  vive  for  a  new  chapter  on 
this  abhorrent  person  as  soon  as  this  last  vision 
proper  should  be  taken  up  ?  And  has  not  the  pic- 
ture of  the  "vile  person,"  more  and  more  as  his 
portrait  was  unfolded  in  verses  21-35,  projected 
our  minds  forward  to  his  anti-type?  And  does 
not  the  deeper  insight  into  the  last  half  of  verse  35 
point  us  in  perspective  from  the  Maccabees  to 
their  anti-type,  the  separated,  purified  and  saved 
Israelitish  remnant  of  the  last  days — that  remnant 
which  had  been  the  objective  of  Hebrew  prophecy 
all  the  way  down  to  Daniel? 

Not  only  will  he  be  a  wilful  king;  the  main 
point  is  that  he  shall  be  allowed  to  do  according 
to  his  will.  Until  his  time  no  hater,  no  persecutor 
of  Israel  will  have  been  allowed  by  God  to  exe- 
cute all  his  malignant  will  against  Israel.  Until 
that  day  no  persecutor  will  have  had  the  power 
of  Satan  sufficiently  in  his  hands  to  be  able  to 
wreak  upon  Israel  the  whole  impulse  of  his  wicked 
heart.  This  king's  assertion  of  himself,  his  self- 
exaltation  even  above  all  gods,  his  inconceivable 
blasphemy  of  Almighty  God — are  familiar  to  us 
already;  and  we  cannot  think  of  attributing  the 
description  to  any  but  the  Antichrist.  But  the 
point  which  is  driven  home  right  here  is  that  he 
shall  prosper  in  all  this  outrageous  course  "till  the 
indignation  be  accomplished."  It  hardly  needs 
to  be  explained  again  that  this  word  "indignation" 
means  God's  fierce  wrath  upon  Israel.  The 
king's  doings  all  focus  upon  the  devoted  head  of 
God's  impenitent  Israel;  and  his  doings  progress 


2o6  THE  BOOK  OF  DANIEL 

even  to  all  "that  is  determined"  by  God  in  order 
to  accomplish  His  end  with  Israel.  This  is  the 
key  to  this  vision;  it  means  the  final  accomplish- 
ment of  all  that  God  purposes  by  His  indignation 
against  Israel.  This  king  is  but  the  instrument 
of  that  purpose  of  God. 

37  Neither  shall  he  regard  the  God  of  his  fathers,  nor 
the  desire  of  women,  nor  regard  any  god:  for  he  shall  mag- 
nify himself  above  all.  38  But  in  his  estate  he  shall  hon- 
our the  God  of  forces:  and  a  god  whom  his  fathers  knew 
not  shall  he  honour  with  gold,  and  silver,  and  with  precious 
stones,  and  pleasant  things.  39  Thus  shall  he  do  in  the 
most  strong  holds  with  a  strange  god,  whom  he  shall  ac- 
knowledge and  increase  with  glory:  and  he  shall  cause 
them  to  rule  over  many,  and  shall  divide  the  land  for  gain. 

These  verses  enlarge  upon  the  atheistical  char- 
acter of  the  Antichrist.  We  need  not  repeat  the 
citations  of  parallel  New  Testament  passages 
which  have  been  connected  with  previous  descrip- 
tions of  the  Antichrist.  A  few  peculiar  expres- 
sions call  for  some  notice.  The  words,  "Neither 
shall  he  regard  the  God  of  his  fathers,"  might  be 
construed  favorably  to  the  idea  that  the  Antichrist 
will  be  a  Jew,  who  will  lead  and  coerce  impenitent 
Israelites  to  renounce  the  God  of  their  fathers. 
"The  desire  of  women"  seems  not  unlikely  to  refer 
to  Christ,  the  Messiah  of  the  Jews,  whom  it  was 
the  pious  desire  of  all  Jewish  womanhood  to  have 
the  honor  of  bearing.  "But  in  his  estate"  means 
in  his  stead,  i.  e.,  in  God's  stead,  or  Christ's.  Al- 
though an  atheist  in  the  sense  of  disavowing  all 
hitherto  known  gods,  yet  this  king  is  shown  to  be  a 


LAST  VISION  CONCLUDED       207 

theist  nevertheless ;  he  will  have  his  god,  one  never 
before  worshipped.     The  R.  V.  is  helpful  here: 

But  in  his  place  shall  he  honor  the  god  of  fortresses: 
and  a  god  whom  his  fathers  knew  not  shall  he  honor  with 
gold,  and  silver,  and  with  precious  stones,  and  with  pleas- 
ant things.  And  he  shall  deal  with  the  strongest  fortresses 
by  the  help  of  a  strange  god ;  whosoever  acknowledgeth  him 
he  will  increase  with  glory :  and  he  shall  cause  them  to  rule 
over  many,  and  shall  divide  the  land  for  a  price. 

The  meaning  appears  to  be  that  this  king's  god 
is  one  who  will  give  him  unparalleled  power  and 
authority  in  the  realm  of  all  forces.  Under  New 
Testament  light  we  see  Satan  in  this  god, — Satan, 
who  is  just  waiting  for  the  competent  man  who 
shall,  on  condition  of  worshipping  him  supremely 
and  alone,  receive  and  exercise  all  his  power  and 
authority  before  the  world.  See  Rev.  13:  2;  2 
Thess.  2 :  4,  9.  The  last  of  verse  39  seems  to  in- 
dicate that  Antichrist  will  set  high  in  rule  those 
who  best  meet  his  religious  demands,  and  give 
them  free  rein  to  rule  and  to  rob  those  who  refuse 
to  meet  those  demands,  especially  loyal  Jews. 

40  And  at  the  time  of  the  end  shall  the  king  of  the 
south  push  at  him:  and  the  king  of  the  north  shall  come 
against  him  like  a  whirlwind,  with  chariots,  and  with 
horsemen,  and  with  many  ships;  and  he  shall  enter  into 
the  countries,  and  shall  overflow  and  pass  over. 

Whence  Shall  the  Antichrist  Arise? — 
This  verse  supplements  Daniel  8:  9  in  enabling 
us  to  answer  this  question.  In  8:9,  23  we 
learned  that  Antichrist  is  to  arise  from  one  of  the 


2o8  THE  BOOK  OF  DANIEL 

four  reconstituted  kingdoms  of  the  old  Grecian 
Empire,  i.  e.,  out  of  Egypt,  Chaldea,  Syria  or 
Greece.  But  8:  9  pictures  his  conquest  ''toward 
the  south  [Egypt],  and  toward  the  east,  [Chal- 
dea], and  toward  the  pleasant  land  [Palestine]." 
This  leaves  only  the  north,  Syria,  and  the  west, 
Greece,  as  the  geographical  territory  from  which 
he  must  appear.  But  in  the  verse  now  before  us 
(11:  40)  the  northern  kingdom,  Syria,  is  repre- 
sented as  being  more  hostile  to  his  advance  than 
either  the  southern  or  the  eastern.  ''And  the  king 
of  the  north  shall  come  against  him  like  a  whirl- 
wind, with  chariots,  and  with  horsemen,  and  with 
many  ships."  Hence,  we  have  only  the  western 
kingdom  left,  or  Greece,  out  of  which  to  look  for 
Antichrist's  appearing.  And  the  last  expression 
of  the  verse  just  quoted,  "with  many  ships,"  indi- 
cates that  his  kingdom  can  be  assailed  from  the 
sea  as  well  as  by  land.  This  exactly  fits  the  case 
of  Greece. 

We  are,  then,  brought  convincingly  to  the  con- 
clusion that  this  king,  the  Antichrist,  will  begin 
his  public  political  career  as  the  head  of  the  king- 
dom of  Greece  in  the  latter  days.  And  in  7 :  24 
we  are  told  that  "he  shall  subdue  three  kings." 
We  know  now  what  kingdoms  these  three  will  be; 
they  will  be  the  three  other  kingdoms  of  the  old 
Grecian  Empire — Egypt,  Syria,  and  Chaldea. 
Having  subdued  these  kingdoms,  the  Antichrist 
will  evidently  receive  the  peaceable  submission  of 
the  other  six  of  the  ten  kingdoms  which  shall  con- 
stitute in  the  last  days  the  Fourth,  or  Roman,  Em- 


LAST  VISION  CONCLUDED       209 

pire.     This  appears  not  only  from  Daniel  7 :  8, 
24  but  still  more  clearly  from  Rev.  17:  12,  13: 

And  the  ten  horns  which  thou  sawest  are  ten  kings, 
which  have  received  no  kingdom  as  yet;  but  receive  power 
as  kings  one  hour  with  the  beast.  These  have  one  mind, 
and  shall  give  their  power  and  strength  to  the  beast. 

Little  need  be  said  upon  verses  40-43. 

40  And  at  the  time  of  the  end  shall  the  king  of  the 
south  push  at  him :  and  the  king  of  the  north  shall  come 
against  him  like  a  whirlwind,  with  chariots,  and  with 
horsemen,  and  with  many  ships ;  and  he  shall  enter  into  the 
countries,  and  shall  overflow  and  pass  over.  41  He  shall 
enter  also  into  the  glorious  land,  and  many  countries  shall 
be  overthrown :  but  these  shall  escape  out  of  his  hand,  even 
Edom,  and  Moab,  and  the  chief  of  the  children  of  Ammon. 
42  He  shall  stretch  forth  his  hand  also  upon  the  countries: 
and  the  land  of  Egypt  shall  not  escape.  43  But  he  shall 
have  power  over  the  treasures  of  gold  and  of  silver,  and 
over  all  the  precious  things  of  Egypt :  and  the  Libyans  and 
Ethiopians  shall  be  at  his  steps. 

Antichrist's  Conquest. — The  above  verses 
evidently  describe  more  fully  than  has  been  done 
before  the  Antichrist's  subjugation  of  the  whole 
territory  of  the  old  Grecian  Empire,  excepting 
"Edom,  and  Moab  and  the  chief  of  the  children  of 
Ammon."  (According  to  Is.  11:  14,  these  three 
nations  will  be  conquered  at  the  return  of  Christ 
by  the  remnant  of  Israel.)  Knowing  as  we  do 
the  bitter  hatred  now  existing  between  Greek  and 
Turk,  we  can  easily  imagine  what  a  fierce  opposi- 
tion Antichrist  will  meet  in  subjugating  the  terri- 
tories which  are  so  strongly  Moslem  in  population. 


210  THE  BOOK  OF  DANIEL 

Of  course  "the  glorious  land,"  verse  41,  means  the 
Holy  Land. 

44  But  tidings  out  of  the  east  and  out  of  the  north  shall 
trouble  him :  therefore  he  shall  go  forth  with  great  fury  to 
destroy,  and  utterly  to  make  away  many.  45  And  he  shall 
plant  the  tabernacle  of  his  palace  between  the  seas  in  the 
glorious  holy  mountain;  yet  he  shall  come  to  his  end,  and 
none  shall  help  him. 

The  Last  Roar  or  the  Beast. — ^Verse  44  pre- 
dicts startling  tidings  from  the  north  and  east 
which  shall  excite  Antichrist  to  steps  of  destruc- 
tive fury.  All  precedent  leads  us  to  understand 
the  words,  "to  destroy,  and  utterly  make  away 
many,"  as  referring  to  Israel.  This  is  supported 
by  verse  45,  which  describes  the  final  encampment 
of  Antichrist,  where  he  eventually  meets  his  doom. 
This  encampment  is  shown  to  be  in  the  midst  of 
the  Holy  Land. 

This  mustering  place  of  the  Antichrist  in  the 
Holy  Land  is  designated  with  geographical  ex- 
actness in  Rev.  16:  16:  "And  he  gathered  them 
together  into  a  place  called  in  the  Hebrew  tongue 
Armageddon."  This  name  is  the  Greek  form  of 
the  Hebrew  word  Harmageddon;  which  is  com- 
pounded of  Har  and  Megiddo  and  means  Mount 
Megiddo.  Megiddo  lies  on  the  southern  verge 
of  the  Plain  of  Esdraelon,  or  the  Valley  of  Jez- 
reel.  It  is  just  where  the  international  highway, 
passing  out  of  the  Plain  of  Sharon,  descends  from 
the  Carmel  range  to  the  plain.  But  the  term  is 
commonly  applied  to  the  whole  plain.  This  plain 
is  where  the  great  historic  battles  of  the  ages  have 


LAST  VISION  CONCLUDED       211 

been  fought,  epoch-making  victories  have  been 
won,  fatal  disasters  have  been  encountered. 

The  last  great  onslaught  upon  Israel  is  not, 
however,  to  be  made  in  this  plain.  Armageddon 
is  not  in  reality  the  designation  of  any  battle,  least 
of  all  a  battle  between  Gentile  nations.  Arma- 
geddon is  the  place  of  the  mustering  under  Anti- 
christ of  all  nations  in  a  common  purpose  to  de- 
stroy Israel  in  her  own  land.  Poor  Israel  will 
not  be  in  condition  to  take  the  open  field  of  Jezreel 
against  this  combined  host;  but  her  last  retreat 
will  be  found  in  the  Holy  City.  And  it  is  there, 
in  the  valley  of  Jehoshaphat,  that  the  final  assault 
will  be  made.  Many  prophetical  visions  of  this 
scene  might  be  cited.  We  will  insert  portions 
from  Joel  and  Zechariah. 

For,  behold,  in  those  days,  and  in  that  time,  when  I 
shall  bring  again  the  captivity  of  Judah  and  Jerusalem, 
I  will  also  gather  all  nations,  and  wdll  bring  them  down 
into  the  valley  of  Jehoshaphat,  and  will  plead  with  them 
there  for  my  people  and  for  my  heritage  Israel,  whom  they 
have  scattered  among  the  nations  and  parted  my  land.  .  .  . 
Let  the  heathen  be  wakened,  and  come  up  to  the  valley  of 
Jehoshaphat:  for  there  will  I  sit  to  judge  all  the  heathen 
round  about.  Put  ye  in  the  sickle,  for  the  harvest  is  ripe: 
come,  get  you  down;  for  the  press  is  full,  the  fats  overflow; 
for  their  v/ickedness  is  great.  Multitudes,  multitudes  in 
the  valley  of  decision:  for  the  day  of  the  Lord  is  near  in 
the  valley  of  decision. — Joel  3:  1,  2,  12-14. 

Behold,  the  day  of  the  Lord  cometh,  and  thy  spoil  shall 
be  divided  in  the  midst  of  thee.  For  I  will  gather  all  na- 
tions against  Jerusalem  to  battle;  and  the  city  shall  be 
taken,  and  the  houses  rifled,  and  the  women  ravished;  and 
half  of  the  city  shall  go  forth  into  captivity,  and  the  residue 
of  the  people  shall  not  be  cut  off  from  the  city.     Then  shall 


212  THE  BOOK  OF  DANIEL 

the  Lord  go  forth,  and  fight  against  those  nations,  as  when 
he  fought  in  the  day  of  battle. — Zech.  14:  1-3. 

Thus  shall  the  last  supreme  destroyer  of  Israel 
meet  his  end,  ^'and  none  shall  help  him."  Who 
could  help  him  "whom  the  Lord  shall  consume 
with  the  spirit  of  his  mouth,  and  shall  destroy 
with  the  brightness  of  his  coming"? 

The  Holy  Remnant  or  Saved  Israel. — Be- 
fore taking  up  the  text  of  Daniel  12,  a  few  words 
upon  the  above  caption  may  not  be  premature. 

The  refrain  of  all  Hebrew  prophecy  is  the  oft- 
repeated  prediction  that  God  will  eventually — 
when  He  shall  have  finished  the  work  and  purpose 
of  judgment — have  an  Israel  perfectly  his  own,  to 
present  to  their  Messiah  as  His  national  kingdom. 
The  following  selections  from  many  like  passages 
of  Scripture  will  suffice : 

In  that  day  shall  the  branch  of  the  Lord  be  beautiful 
and  glorious,  and  the  fruit  of  the  earth  shall  be  excellent 
and  comely  for  them  that  are  escaped  of  Israel.  And  it 
shall  come  to  pass,  that  he  that  is  left  in  Zion,  and  he  that 
remaineth  in  Jerusalem,  shall  be  called  holy,  even  every 
one  that  is  written  among  the  living  in  Jerusalem:  when 
the  Lord  shall  have  washed  away  the  filth  of  the  daughters 
of  Zion,  and  shall  have  purged  the  blood  of  Jerusalem  from 
the  midst  thereof  by  the  spirit  of  judgment,  and  by  the 
spirit  of  burning. — Is.  4 :  2-4. 

Thy  people  also  shall  be  all  righteous :  they  shall  inherit 
the  land  for  ever,  the  branch  of  my  planting,  the  work  of 
my  hands,  that  I  may  be  glorified. — Is.  60:  21. 

And  so  all  Israel  shall  be  saved:  as  it  is  written.  There 
shall  come  out  of  Sion  the  Deliverer,  and  shall  turn  away 
ungodliness  from  Jacob :  for  this  is  my  covenant  unto  them, 
when  I  shall  take  away  their  sins. — Rom.  11 :  26,  27. 


LAST  VISION  CONCLUDED       213 

We  have  already  detected  that  the  light  of  this 
last  vision  of  Daniel  converges  upon  the  purified 
remnant  of  Israel,  who  shall  constitute  the  seed 
that  shall  inherit  the  everlasting  kingdom  of  the 
earth  under  their  Messiah,  the  Most  High  Son  of 
Man.  This  kingdom  is  the  theme  of  the  book  of 
Daniel  from  first  to  last.  It  is  the  radiant  gem  set 
in  the  ring  of  the  whole  prophecy.  The  exquisite 
beauty  of  this  gem  is  created  by  the  composite  ra- 
diance of  five  divinely-cut  facets  of  latter-day 
truth: 

L  The  coming  of  the  Shepherd,  the  Stone  of 
Israel,  to  supersede  all  earthly  rule. — Nebuchad- 
nezzar's Dream  of  the  Great  Image. 

2.  The  possession  of  this  kingdom  with  Him  by 
the  Saints  of  Israel. — Vision  of  the  Four  Beasts. 

3.  The  conclusive  Judgment  of  God  upon  the 
ripened  transgressions  of  Israel. — Vision  of  Ram 
and  He-Goat. 

4.  The  galaxy  of  spiritual  Consummations  to 
which  the  Jewish  State  finally  succeeds. — The 
Seventy  Weeks. 

These  four  cluster  about  and  converge  to  the 
capital  facet: 

5.  The  final  Holy  Seed  of  living  Israelites  who 
''shall  be  named  the  Priests  of  the  Lord." — The 
Last  Vision. 

1  And  at  that  time  shall  Michael  stand  up,  the  great 
prince  which  standeth  for  the  children  of  thy  people:  and 
there  shall  be  a  time  of  trouble,  such  as  never  was  since 
there  was  a  nation  even  to  that  same  time :  and  at  that  time 
thy  people  shall  be  delivered,  every  one  that  shall  be  found 
written  in  the  book. 


214  THE  BOOK  OF  DANIEL 

The  Marvellous  Deliverance. — The  open- 
ing words,  "And  at  that  time,"  conclusively  prove 
that  11:  36-45  belongs  to  the  same  last  days  to 
which  the  things  of  12:  1  belong.  That  the  sim- 
ple expression,  "shall  Michael  stand  up," — 
Michael  the  defender  of  Israel — embodies  an 
event  of  supreme  moment,  can  be  seen  from  its 
parallel  in  Rev.  12:  7-9: 

And  there  was  war  in  heaven:  Michael  and  his  angels 
fought  against  the  dragon ;  and  the  dragon  fought  and  his 
angels,  and  prevailed  not;  neither  was  their  place  found 
any  more  in  heaven.  And  the  great  dragon  was  cast  out, 
that  old  serpent,  called  the  Devil,  and  Satan,  which  de- 
ceiveth  the  whole  world:  he  was  cast  out  into  the  earth, 
and  his  angels  were  cast  out  with  him. 

This  is  the  prelude  to  the  trouble  on  earth  which 
shall  eclipse  all  precedent.  Pre-eminently  shall 
it  be  what  is  described  in  Jer.  30:  7:  "Alas!  for 
that  day  is  great,  so  that  none  is  like  it;  it  is  even 
the  time  of  Jacob's  trouble:  but  he  shall  be  saved 
out  of  it."  It  is  the  travail  which  shall  give  birth 
to  a  nation  to  which  even  Israel  never  before  was 
like,  much  less  any  other  nation.  "Who  hath 
heard  such  a  thing?  Who  hath  seen  such  things? 
Shall  the  earth  bring  forth  in  a  day  ?  or  shall  a  na- 
tion be  born  at  once?  for  as  soon  as  Zion  travailed 
she  brought  forth  her  children"  (Is.  66:  8). 

But  we  are  told  that  the  delivered  ones  include 
only  "every  one  that  shall  be  found  written  in  the 
book."  Ever  before,  the  deliverances  of  Israel 
had  left  a  leaven  unremoved  which  soon  leavened 
again  the  whole  lump.     This  verse  shows  that 


LAST  VISION  CONCLUDED       215 

this  deliverance  shall  be  only  of  "the  holy  seed." 
But  not  one  grain  of  this  precious  corn  shall  fall 
to  the  earth. 

2  And  many  of  them  that  sleep  in  the  dust  of  the  earth 
shall  awake,  some  to  everlasting  life,  and  some  to  shame 
and  everlasting  contempt. 

The  Resurrected  Israelites. — This  verse 
serves  as  a  further  earmark  of  all  these  things.  It 
is  the  time  of  the  resurrection  of  ''them  that  are 
Christ's  at  His  coming."  It  cannot  be,  however, 
the  resurrection  of  all  saints  at  Christ's  coming 
that  is  here  denoted,  but  only  that  of  the  Israel- 
itish  portion,  especially  the  Old  Testament  por- 
tion. This  is  the  only  construction  that  is  ger- 
mane to  the  connection  of  thought.  The  blessed 
revelation  of  these  words  to  Daniel  was  that  Is- 
rael's pious,  faithful  dead  should  behold  and  par- 
ticipate in  this  glorious  consummation.  Not  that 
resurrected  Israelites  will  be  a  part  of  the  earthly 
population  in  the  millennium,  any  more  than  res- 
urrected Gentile  believers  will  be.  But  they  will 
arise  at  this  time,  and  wdll  have  the  celestial 
fruition  of  all  their  old-time  hopes  as  believing 
Israelites. 

Daniel  needed  this  knowledge,  even  more  em- 
phatically and  explicitly  set  forth  than  it  had  ever 
been  before;  his  people  through  all  the  centuries 
after  were  to  need  it;  especially  in  that  approach- 
ing day  of  tribulation  will  they  need  it.  And  we 
need  to  realize  and  rejoice  that  the  resurrection- 
wife  of  Jesus  Christ  will  include  the  Old  Testa- 


2i6  THE  BOOK  OF  DANIEL 

ment  saints.  It  is  the  Saviour's  declaration,  not 
only  that  the  twelve  Apostles  shall  sit  on  twelve 
(celestial)  thrones  judging  the  twelve  tribes  of  re- 
stored Israel  in  the  millennial  day;  but  also, that 
"many  shall  come  from  the  east  and  west,  and  sit 
down  with  Abraham,  and  Isaac,  and  Jacob,  in 
the  kingdom,"  "when  ye  shall  see  Abraham,  and 
Isaac,  and  Jacob,  and  all  the  prophets  in  the  king- 
dom of  God." 

A  bit  of  logical  exegesis  needs  to  be  applied  to 
verse  2.  The  words,  "many  of  them  that  sleep  in 
the  dust  of  the  earth  shall  arise,"  show  that  this 
resurrection  is  not  to  be  entire  as  regards  Israel, 
but  fractional ;  even  as  we  know  that  it  will  be  par- 
tial as  regards  all  the  dead.  No  more  can  it  be 
true  that  in  this  partial  resurrection  there  will  be 
two  antagonistic  classes.  It  is  evident  that  of  the 
two  co-ordinates — "some  .  .  .  some" — the  first 
"some"  refers  to  those  resurrected  "at  that  time"; 
while  the  other  "some"  refers  to  those  left  for  the 
second  resurrection.  Similarly  Jesus  says  in 
John  5 :  28,  29 :  "All  that  are  in  the  graves  shall 
hear  His  voice,  and  shall  come  forth:  they  that 
have  done  good,  unto  the  resurrection  of  life ;  and 
they  that  have  done  evil,  unto  the  resurrection  of 
damnation."  We  know  from  Rev.  20:  5,  6  that 
the  thousand  years  intervene  between  the  two  in- 
stalments of  resurrection. 

3  And  they  that  be  wise  shall  shine  as  the  brightness 
of  the  firmament;  and  they  that  turn  many  to  righteous- 
ness, as  the  stars  for  ever  and  ever.  But  thou,  O  Daniel, 
shut  up  the  words,  and  seal  the  book,  even  to  the  time  of 


LAST  VISION  CONCLUDED       217 

the  end:  many  shall  run  to  and  fro,  and  knowledge  shall 
be  increased. 

The  Bright  Particular  Stars. — Here  again 
we  are  to  confine  ourselves  to  Israelitish  horizon. 
The  expression,  ''They  that  be  wise,"  refers  here 
exclusively  to  understanding  ones  of  Israel  in  that 
day  of  supreme  trouble  and  darkness — like  those 
children  of  Issachar,  "which  were  men  that  had 
understanding  of  the  times  to  know  what  Israel 
ought  to  do."  Just  as  the  "understanding"  ones 
of  the  Maccabaean  crisis,  the  "Maskilim,"  shone 
out  on  the  dark  background  of  tribulation  and 
apostasy  in  spiritual  prominence  and  steadying 
power ;  so,  in  the  darker  days  of  divine  vengeance 
during  Antichrist's  superhuman  oppression  of  Is- 
rael, much  of  the  credit  under  God  for  the  creation 
and  preservation  of  "the  holy  seed"  of  Israel  will 
be  due  to  the  same  class  of  pre-eminent  spiritual 
teachers  and  exemplars.  Their  shining  is  not  to 
be  in  some  vague  celestial  sphere  long  after,  but 
right  there  in  that  midnight  hour  of  darkness. 
Many  ignorant,  tempted,  wavering  Israelites  will 
they  "turn  to  righteousness."  The  principle  of 
the  matter  avails  for  other  times  and  cases,  but  the 
application  of  it  here  is  to  the  crucial  situation  of 
Israelites  in  their  hour  of  supreme  testing. 

So  likewise  verse  4  has  exclusive  reference  to  the 
same  trying  time  and  tested  people:  "Shut  up 
the  words,  and  seal  the  book,  even  to  the  time  of 
the  end."  This  was  fulfilled  by  Daniel.  That  is 
why  we  have  it  all  now ;  it  was  to  be  no  ephemeral 


2i8  THE  BOOK  OF  DANIEL 

prophecy.  That  is  why  Israel,  now  darkened  in 
mind  and  inattentive  to  the  book  of  Daniel,  will 
have  this  most  important  body  of  prophecy  intact 
in  that  day  of  dire  need.  ''Many  shall  run  to  and 
fro."  We  see  them!  Not  the  "globe-trotters" 
of  our  present  day.  We  see  them — inquiring  Is- 
raelites! Besieging  their  enlightened  teachers! 
Running  to  and  fro  through  these  very  pages  of 
Daniel  which  we  have  been  probably  too  listlessly 
perusing !  There  will  be  nothing  listless  in  those 
inquirers.  It  will  not  then  be  a  matter  of  differ- 
ent ''theories  on  Daniel";  it  will  be  a  matter  of 
Daniel  alone.  Their  teachers  will  not  be  such  as 
are  taught  on  Daniel,  but  such  as  are  wise  in  Dan- 
iel. It  will  be  too  late  then  to  run  through  other 
books — books  on  prophecy  but  not  prophetical 
books.  If  the  one  book — the  prophecy  itself-^is 
not  sufficient  and  self-evident,  then  those  anxious 
inquirers  will  have  to  stumble  on  to  their  doom. 
But,  thank  God!  the  more  they  "run  to  and  fro," 
the  more  "knowledge  shall  be  increased" — saving 
knowledge.  We  might  well  learn  from  this  how 
to  increase  our  own  real  knowledge  in  God's 
Word. 

5  Then  I  Daniel  looked,  and,  behold,  there  stood  other 
two,  the  one  on  this  side  of  the  bank  of  the  river,  and  the 
other  on  that  side  of  the  bank  of  the  river.  6  And  one 
said  to  the  man  clothed  in  linen,  which  was  upon  the  wa- 
ters of  the  river,  How  long  shall  it  be  to  the  end  of  these 
wonders?  7  And  I  heard  the  man  clothed  in  linen,  which 
was  upon  the  waters  of  the  river,  when  he  held  up  his  right 
hand  and  his  left  hand  unto  heaven,  and  sware  by  him 
that  liveth  for  ever,  that  it  shall  be  for  a  time,  times  and  a 


LAST  VISION  CONCLUDED       219 

half;  and  when  he  shall  have  accomplished  to  scatter  the 
power  of  the  holy  people,  all  these  things  shall  be  finished. 
8  And  I  heard,  but  I  understood  not:  then  said  I,  O  my 
Lord,  what  shall  be  the  end  of  these  things? 

Duration  or  These  Closing  Wonders. — 
We  should  notice  particularly,  that  the  interview 
given  in  verses  5-7  includes  Daniel  only  as  an 
observer  and  a  listener.  There  appeared  in  his 
vision  two  angels  besides  his  visitant.  The  lat- 
ter's  position  was  in  the  air  above  the  bosom  of  the 
Hiddekel  or  Tigris.  The  other  two  were  seen  sit- 
uated one  above  each  bank  of  the  river.  The  one 
angel  asked  the  other,  "How  long  shall  it  be  to 
the  end  of  these  wonders?"  Answer  was  made 
with  the  most  solemn,  authoritative  asseveration 
(reminding  us  of  a  like  scene  in  Rev.  20:  1-7), 
that  it  should  be  for  the  3^  times  already  familiar 
to  Daniel  but  evidently  not  to  the  angels.  This 
period  of  3  J^  years  agrees  exactly  in  length  and  in 
purpose  with  the  statements  in  7:  25  and  9:  27. 
It  is  the  time  ''when  he  [God,  through  the  Anti- 
christ] shall  have  accomplished  to  scatter  the 
power  of  the  holy  people."  This  expresses  the 
negative  side  of  God's  purpose  in  ''these  wonders." 
It  is  only  an  utterly  powerless,  helpless  Israel — 
caught  in  an  inextricable  net  and  in  hopeless  ex- 
tremity— that  God  can  save  for  His  kingdom.  It 
is  self-power,  instead  of  the  power  of  faith  only, 
which  has  all  along  unfitted  Israel  for  her  destiny. 

We  read  the  plaint  that  will  finally  come  from 
the  lips  of  the  remnant  in  that  day  (Is.  64:  1, 
6,8): 


220  THE  BOOK  OF  DANIEL 

Oh  that  thou  wouldest  rend  the  heavens,  that  thou 
wouldest  come  down,  that  the  mountains  might  flow  down 
at  thy  presence.  .  .  .  But  we  are  all  as  an  unclean  thing, 
and  all  our  righteousnesses  are  as  filthy  rags;  and  we  all 
do  fade  as  a  leaf;  and  our  iniquities,  like  the  wind,  have 
taken  us  away.  .  .  .  But  now,  O  Lord,  thou  art  our  fa- 
ther; we  are  the  clay,  and  thou  our  potter;  and  we  are  all 
the  work  of  thy  hand. 

God's  gracious  response  to  such  melting  plea  is: 
"To  this  man  will  I  look,  even  to  him  that  is  poor 
and  of  a  contrite  spirit,  and  trembleth  at  my  word" 
(Is.  66:  2).  His  promise  for  those  days  of  un- 
sparing indignation  is:  'T  will  also  leave  in  the 
midst  of  thee  an  afflicted  and  poor  people,  and 
they  shall  trust  in  the  name  of  the  Lord"  (Zeph. 
3:  12).  As  Jesus  said:  'Tor  I  say  unto  you,  Ye 
shall  not  see  me  henceforth,  till  ye  shall  say, 
Blessed  is  He  that  cometh  in  the  name  of  the 
Lord"  (Matt.  23:39). 

Now  Daniel  heard  the  angelic  conversation,  but 
he  did  not  comprehend  the  language  of  the  answer 
given.  The  utterance  was  too  lofty  for  his  finite 
ear.  But  he  learned  what  the  answer  was  by  in- 
quiring of  his  visitor.  We  are  to  infer  this  and 
to  close  this  paragraph  with  verse  8  (instead  of 
taking  verse  9  as  giving  his  visitor's  answer  to  his 
inquiry) ;  because  otherwise  Daniel  would  not 
have  been  able  to  record  the  information  as  he 
does  in  verse  7. 

9  And  he  said,  Go  thy  way,  Daniel:  for  the  words  are 
closed  up  and  sealed  till  the  time  of  the  end.  10  Many 
shall  be  purified,  and  made  white,  and  tried;   but  the 


LAST  VISION  CONCLUDED       221 

wicked  shall  do  wickedly:  and  none  of  the  wicked  shall 
understand;  but  the  wise  shall  understand.  11  And  from 
the  time  that  the  daily  sacrifice  shall  be  taken  away,  and 
the  abomination  that  maketh  desolate  set  up,  there  shall 
be  a  thousand  two  hundred  and  ninety  days.  12  Blessed 
is  he  that  waiteth,  and  cometh  to  the  thousand  three  hun- 
dred and  five  and  thirty  days.  13  But  go  thou  thy  way 
till  the  end  be:  for  thou  shalt  rest,  and  stand  in  thy  lot 
at  the  end  of  the  days. 

The  Angel's  Parting  Message. — The  words 
of  verse  9,  ''Go  thy  way,  Daniel,"  begin  the  angel's 
parting  message,  as  their  repetition  in  the  last 
verse  proves.  In  the  former  verse  Daniel  is  as- 
sured that  his  words  shall  stand  till  and  for  "the 
time  of  the  end."  (The  expressions  used  here 
do  not  signify  at  all  that  the  book  is  left  mysteri- 
ous and  unintelligible  till  the  end.)  How  much 
this  last  chapter  emphasizes  the  fact  that  this 
book  relates  to  "the  time  of  the  end"  in  its  reve- 
lation !  How  strongly  assurance  is  given  that  its 
revelation  is  made  good  by  divine  fiat  for  the  last 
days! 

Verse  10  reiterates  the  substance  of  this  last 
vision;  namely,  that  a  certain  class  of  Israelites 
is  to  come  through  the  fires  of  the  final  tribulation 
separated,  renovated  and  tempered  to  kingdom- 
perfection,  while  the  rest  will  all  be  forever  cut  off 
from  kingdom-hope.  The  secret  of  the  difference 
is  shown  to  be  one  of  the  heart.  The  "wise"  are 
not  the  "understanding"  ones  to  begin  with;  they 
are  contrasted  with  the  "wicked."  We  have  seen 
how  essential  understanding  will  be  in  those  days. 


222  THE  BOOK  OF  DANIEL 

On  that  account  this  book  of  Daniel  was  given  and 
is  being  preserved  intact  till  those  days.  But 
there  is  a  condition  of  understanding,  without 
which  condition  understanding  cannot  be  ob- 
tained: "None  of  the  wicked  shall  understand; 
but  the  wise  shall  understand."  The  condition  is 
the  "wisdom"  which  consists  in  "the  fear  of  the 
Lord."  For  lack  of  this  wisdom  the  wicked 
"shall  be  driven  to  darkness"  (Is.  8:22).  "They 
shall  do  wickedly."  The  tribulation  fires  which 
will  melt  the  wise-hearted  will  only  harden  the 
foolish-hearted.  Like  Pharoah  of  old,  their 
hearts  will  be  hardened  unto  irreparable  judg- 
ment. These  incorrigible  Jews  will  belong  to  the 
class  spoken  of  in  Rev.  9:  20,  21: 

And  the  rest  of  the  men  which  were  not  killed  by  these 
plagues  yet  repented  not  of  the  works  of  their  hands,  that 
they  should  not  worship  devils,  and  idols  of  gold,  and 
silver,  and  brass,  and  stone,  and  of  wood:  which  neither 
can  see,  nor  hear,  nor  walk :  neither  repented  they  of  their 
murders,  nor  of  their  sorceries,  nor  of  their  fornication, 
nor  of  their  thefts. 

In  verses  11,12  two  new  measurements  are  in- 
troduced as  a  kind  of  uninterpreted  appendix  to 
the  revelation.  Already  we  have  had  a  special 
measurement  extending  from  the  taking  away  of 
the  daily  burnt  offering  and  the  trampling  down 
of  the  sanctuary  to  the  cleansing  of  the  sanctuary. 
That  special  measurement  overlaps  the  3^  years 
by  1,040  days,  or  2  years,  10  months  and  20  days. 
In  verse  11a  special  measurement  is  made  from 


LAST  VISION  CONCLUDED        223 

the  same  starting-point,  only  this  measurement  is 
1,290  days — an  overlap  of  30  days  beyond  the 
3^  years.  No  indication,  however,  is  given  of 
what  event  is  then  to  be  reached.  It  is  idle,  there- 
fore, for  us  to  speculate  upon  the  matter,  unless  we 
should  merely  consider  that  it  has  some  reference, 
like  the  former,  to  the  sanctuary.  As  Jesus,  on 
the  night  of  His  betrayal,  pointed  His  disciples 
beyond  His  resurrection  to  a  special  meeting  with 
them  in  Galilee  (Matt.  26:  32),  so  it  is  easy  to 
conceive  that  there  will  be  some  very  special  occa- 
sions awaiting  the  happy  saints  of  Israel  a  little 
subsequently  to  the  great  deliverance  itself,  x^n- 
other  special  measurement  of  45  days'  greater 
length,  reckoning  from  that  great  base-line — the 
threshold  of  the  last  half  of  the  seven  years — is 
given  in  verse  12.  Here  it  is  indicated  that  a 
special  blessedness  awaits  him  who  intently  waits 
for  whatever  this  date,  this  overlap  of  75  days,  has 
in  store  for  him. 

And  now  in  the  last  verse,  the  angel  in  taking 
leave  of  Daniel  graciously  calls  him  to  a  con- 
sciousness of  his  own  interest  in  the  outcome  of 
these  last  great  things.  "Go  thou  thy  way" 
sounds  like  a  discharge  of  Daniel  from  life's  ser- 
vice. Daniel  might  well  have  anticipated  the 
angel  by  saying  to  God,  "Now  lettest  Thou  thy 
servant  depart  in  peace."  But  it  is  a  discharge 
only  "till  the  end  be."  Till  then,  but  till  then 
only,  Daniel  should  be  at  rest.  The  glorious 
revelation  is  made  to  him  that  "thou  .  .  .  shalt 
stand  in  thy  lot  at  the  end  of  the  days."     Daniel's 


224  THE  BOOK  OF  DANIEL 

glorified  activity  in  relation  to  that  coming  king- 
dom, which  is  the  burden  of  this  book,  is  to  be 
promptly  taken  up  ^'at  the  end  of  the  days." 
Even  so  shall  every  saint  and  servant  of  Jesus 
Christ  enter  at  that  day,  upon  a  glorified  plane, 
into  '^the  things  done  in  the  body"  upon  the 
mortal  plane. 

A  Closing  Word  is  offered  to  readers  who  may 
be  disappointed  at  finding  our  exposition  of 
Daniel  rigidly  confined  to  Israelitish  application. 
To  put  into  Scripture  any  sense  that  is  not  there 
profits  nothing;  the  actual  meaning  alone  can 
afford  true  knowledge,  joy  and  strength.  Daniel 
wrote  with  clear  understanding  and  to  convey  the 
same.  Hence,  the  book  calls  for  no  outside  light 
or  interpretation.  All  light  must  be  found  in  the 
book  itself,  and  its  meaning  must  be  self-evident. 
Then,  not  only  is  our  richest  gain  with  respect  to 
foreknowledge  of  these  notable  coming  events  to 
be  found  in  taking  the  predictions  of  them  in  their 
actual  sense,  but  also  our  richest  benefit  from  the 
events  themselves  is  to  be  realized  through  their 
fulfilment  exactly  as  predicted.  For,  thank  God ! 
we  are  vitally  interested  with  Christ  in  all  these 
predicted  events.  But,  would  we  not  experience 
a  painful  disgust  with  ourselves,  in  the  day  when 
the  glorified  saints  shall  participate  with  Christ 
in  these  marvellous  fulfilments,  should  we  find 
that  we  had  affected  to  be  wiser  than  Daniel  him- 
self, and  to  be  able  to  explain  what  he  failed  to 
make  plain? 

PRINTED    IN    THE    UNITED    STATES    OP    AMERICA 


DESCRIPTIVE  PRICE  LIST  OF  WRITINGS 

By  W.  C.  STEVENS 

Late  Principal  of  the  Missionary  Training  Institute, 

Nyack,   N.  Y. 

Books 

THE   BOOK   OF  DANIEL,    1915,    Second  Edition,   1918;    Cloth,    Net 

$1.  Dedicated  to  the  fifteen  hundred  students  who  passed  under 
the  author's  teaching  at  Nyack.  Introduction  by  James  M.  Gray, 
Dean  of  Moody  Institute.  A  book  especially  for  this  day  of 
world-convulsion  and  of  age-crisis.  A  judicious  critic  thus  de- 
scribes the  author's  work:  "His  unfolding  of  the  book  is  the 
book's  unfolding  of  itself." 

MYSTERIES  OF  THE  KINGDOM,  Revised  Edition,  1915,  130 
Pages;  Cloth,  50c;  Paper,  35c.  Introduction  by  Lapsley  A.  Mc- 
Afee, Pastor  of  First  Presbyterian  Church,  Berkeley,  Cal.  Con- 
tains twelve  chapters  on  as  many  topics  vitally  related  to  Christ's 
Second  Coming,  which  are  treated  in  what  has  been  declared  by 
many  readers  to  be  an  unusually  clear  and  happy  way.  "Just 
what  we  need  for  young  people,"  writes  one  standing  at  the  center 
of  young  people's  work  in  California.  The  first  chapters  are: 
I.  The  Sure  Light  of  Prophecy.  II.  The  Three  Threes  of  Christ's 
Coming.  III.  The  Salvation  Yet  to  Be  Revealed.  IV.  Occupy  Till 
I  Come.  V.  The  Bride  of  Christ  in  Parable.  VI.  Christ's  Con- 
quest of  the  Sky. 

TRIUMPHS  OF  THE  CROSS,  Revised  Edition,  1915,  100  Pages; 
Paper,  25c.  Introductory  notes  by  Max  Wood  Moorhead  and  by 
President  Blanchard  of  Wheaton  College.  Treats  of  the  "deeper 
lessons  of  the  Cross."  It  has  proved  to  be  "meat  in  due  sea- 
son" to  many.  This  little  book,  in  terse  and  lucid  manner,  pre- 
sents the  triumphs  of  the  Cross  in  relation  successively  to  The 
Law,  Regeneration,  The  World,  Satan,  Sickness,  Cleansing,  The 
Old  Man,  Suffering,  The  Body  of  Christ,  The  Perishing,  The  King- 
dom, and  Eternal  Ages. 

WHY  I  REJECT  THE  "HELPING  HAND"  OF  MILLENNIAL 
DAWN,  Revised  Edition,  1915,  132  Pages;  Paper,  40c.  Prefa- 
tory Testimonial  by  R.  A.  Torrey,  Dean  of  Bible  Institute  of  Los 
Angeles.  This  is  the  only  book  offered  to  the  public  which  fully 
expounds,  rather  than  merely  declaring,  the  fatal  errors  of  Millen- 
nial Dawn.  Mr.  Torrey  says:  "I  consider  it,  taking  it  all  in 
all,  as  the  most  satisfactory  reply  to  Pastor  Russell  and  his  va- 
garies that  there  is  to  put  into  the  hand  of  the  every-day  Christian 
who  has  been  at  all  troubled  by  the  false  teaching  of  Pastor  Rus- 
sell." 

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ARRAIGNMENT  OF  MILLENNIAL  DAWN,  a  Booklet,  5c.  This  is 
the  last  chapter  of  the  above  book  on  Millennial  Dawn,  and  it  is 
intended  for  the  widest  circulation  in  disseminating  the  things 
proved  by  the  exposition  of  the  preceding  chapters. 

PRAYING  IN  THE  HOLY  GHOST,  5c.  Most  highly  commended  by 
one  ^ersed  in  all  prayer  literature  and  in  the  secrets  of  prayer. 


THE  LORD'S  DAY  NOT  THE  SABBATH,  5c.  Called  "the  best 
thing  on  the  subject''  by  one  whose  name  is  well  known  today. 
A  safeguard  against  Sabbatarianism. 

SANCTIFICATION,  5c.  Entirely  independent  and  distinctive.  Em- 
braces and  harmonizes  the  various,  often,  conflicting,  phases  and 
theories  on  a  vital  subject. 

THE  INTERMEDIATE  STATE,  3c.  A  clear  Scriptural  and  philo- 
sophical exposition  which  leaves  no  room  for  soul-sleeping,  anni- 
hilation,   etc. 

THE  FALLACY  OF  THE  2520  YEARS,  3c.  Showing  how  ground- 
less and  harmful  is  the  modern  theory  that  the  "seven  times" 
measure  2520  years  of  the  "Times  of  the  Gentiles,"  and  that  the 
time  measurements  of  Daniel  and  Revelation  are  to  be  construed  on 
the  principle  of    "each  day  for  a  year."      Urgently  needed  today. 

THE  LATTER  RAIN,  2c.  Third  edition,  revised ;  very  popular  and 
widely  distributed.  Calling  to  expectation  of  increasing  revival, 
demonstration  of  the  Spirit  and  world-wide  evangelization  till  Jesus 
comes. 

JESUS,  OUR  HEALER,  2c.  Third  edition,  revised;  a  clear  presenta- 
tion of  the  atonement  for  healing.  Widely  distributed  and  greatly 
used  for  many. 

THE  LORD'S  HEALING,  3c.  Second  edition,  revised;  clearly  dis- 
criminating Christ's  healing  from  all  other  cures,  and  very  helpful 
to   definite    faith. 

HEALING  IN  THE  NAME  OF  JESUS,  2c.  Especially  designed  to 
explain  the  nature  of  this  healing  and  the  plan  of  its  ministry. 

THE  SALVATION  OF  THE  BODY,  2c.  Brings  out  in  Scriptural 
importance  the  reserved  salvation,  "the  redemption  of  our  body,'' 
and  shows  its  relation  to  present  supernatural  healing.  Much 
needed  by  all  Christians. 

THE  CROSS  AND  SICKNESS,  2c.  Consists  mainly  of  an  exposition 
of  Matt.  8,  117,  bringing  forth  the  ground  principles  from  this 
Magna  Charta   of  divine  healing. 

THE  CROSS  AND  CLEANSING,  2c.  An  important  chapter  from 
"Triumphs  of  the  Cross,"  of  special  help  for  seekers  of  heart 
purity. 

THE  CROSS  AND  THE  OLD  MAN,  2c.  Also  from  "Triumphs  of 
the  Cross,"  clearing  up  perplexities  regarding  full  deliverance 
through   Christ. 

THE     THREE     THREES     OF     CHRIST'S     SECOND     COMING,     3c. 

Taken  from   "Mysteries  of  the  Kingdom.         Most  useful  for  imme- 
diate   illumination   on   the   subject. 

Prices  Per  Dozen:     2c  Tracts,  20c;  3c  Tracts,  30c. 
Add  Ic  for  Postage  on  every  one  to  three  Tracts. 

Remit  with  orders  to  the  Author, 

W.  C.  STEVENS 

Biblical  College 

Boone,  Iowa 


J>q^-.   Tli^ 


BS1555 .5846 

The  Book  of  Daniel :  a  composite 

Princeton  Theological  Seminary-Speer  Library 


1    1012  00075  5035 


